Harris Teeter - Handling and Nutrition

Handling and Nutrition

Why Choose Seafood?
All seafood is great for your health, easy to prepare right at home and will add excitement to your menu. It’s healthier, more delicious and easier than you think. Let Fishermans Market at Harris Teeter put a little seafood into your meal – you won’t regret it.

Seafood Storage

Frozen Seafood

Store frozen seafood in its original packaging
Covered frozen seafood will keep up to 6 months in the typical home freezer
Thaw in refrigerator overnight or under cold running water
Prepare defrosted seafood within 24 hours of thawing
Never refreeze seafood that has thawed at room temperature

Fresh Seafood

Never store live shellfish, like clams and mussels, in an airtight container. Cover with a clean, damp cloth to allow them to breathe. Live shellfish will gape naturally. Just tap the shell lightly – if it does not close, the shellfish is dead and must be discarded.
Place fresh fish, shrimp purchases in a leak proof container.
Store fresh seafood in the bottom section of the refrigerator or the meat storage compartment as close to 32o F as possible.
Cooked seafood should be stored in a clean covered container no longer than 3-days in the refrigerator.

Seafood Handling and Safety
One of the leading causes of most food-borne illnesses is improper food handling, preparation and storage. Here are a few simple tips to ensure great seafood quality and safety at home:

Make your seafood purchase last at the store and keep it cold! Ask your seafood captain to pack your purchase on ice if it’s a long trip home.
Always wash your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water before and after handling raw seafood.
Never thaw frozen seafood at room temperature. Thaw your frozen seafood purchase in the refrigerator overnight.
To thaw frozen seafood more rapidly, thaw in a sealed plastic bag under cold running water.
Do not re-use dishcloths or sponges you have used to clean up raw seafood.
Wash counters, utensils, plates, cutting boards and other surfaces that raw seafood has touched with hot, soapy water to prevent cross contamination.
Make sure that when storing raw seafood in the refrigerator that it is in a leak proof container.
Before cooking, rinse seafood under cold running water and pat dry.

Nutritional benefits
Eating seafood at least twice a week has shown tremendous health benefits such as:

Less chance of developing heart disease
Lowers blood pressure
Lowers risk of a heart attack (if you already have disease)
Improves inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis and kidney disease

Seafood is a primary source of Omega-3 fish oil, which is a fatty acid proven to have many benefits including brain development as well as reducing the risk of some forms of cancer. Seafood is a great source of protein and essential nutrients, but unlike other protein sources, seafood is very low in fat.

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