Allergies, Food Poisoning, and More

Preventing Food Poisoning

Preventing Fish and Shellfish Allergies

Preventing Food Poisoning

Foods that have gone bad can make you sick. Milk and other dairy products, eggs, meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and seafood are among the most common foods that cause food poisoning. Since it is not always easy to tell if a food has gone bad by the way it looks, smells or tastes, you can prevent food poisoning if you start with buying safe food and handling food safely at home.

Start with buying safe food.

  • Buy only from reputable sources. Be wary, for example, of vendors selling fish out of the back of their pick-up trucks.
  • Buy only fresh seafood that is refrigerated or properly iced.
  • Don't buy cooked seafood, such as shrimp, crabs or smoked fish, if displayed in the same case as raw fish. Cross-contamination can occur.
  • Don't buy frozen seafood if the packages are open, torn or crushed on the edges. Avoid packages that are above the frost line in the store's freezer. If the package cover is transparent, look for signs of frost or ice crystals. This could mean that the fish has either been stored for a long time or thawed and refrozen.
  • Put seafood on ice, in the refrigerator or in the freezer, immediately after buying it.

How to know if your fresh fish is safe

  • The fish's eyes should be clear and bulge a little. Only a few fish, such as walleye, have naturally cloudy eyes.
  • Whole fish and fillets should have firm and shiny flesh. Dull flesh may mean the fish is old. Fresh whole fish also should have bright red gills free from slime.
  • If the flesh doesn't spring back when pressed, the fish isn't fresh.
  • There should be no darkening around the edges of the fish or brown or yellowish discoloration.
  • The fish should smell fresh and mild, not fishy or ammonia-like.

Be Safe at Home

  • After shopping, get home as soon as you can. Then put food into the refrigerator or freezer right away. Eggs always go into the refrigerator, but NOT in the door of the refrigerator.
  • Make sure that you and your kitchen are clean.
  • Always wash your hands for at least 20 seconds before and after you touch food. Use warm water and soap.
  • Wash everything else before and after it touches food.
  • Wash your cutting board with hot soapy water before you go on to the next food.
  • For extra protection, you can clean the board with a kitchen sanitizer, such as a solution of one teaspoon chlorine bleach to one quart water. When the cutting board becomes worn or hard to clean, throw it out and get a new one.
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables also need to be clean. Rinse them under warm running water to wash dirt away. Use a produce brush when appropriate.
  • Raw meat, raw poultry, raw seafood, and raw eggs can spread germs in your kitchen. Keep these foods and their juices away from other foods. If you use cutting boards, it's best to set one aside that to use only for raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
  • Did you wipe up the juices with a dish towel? Wash it before you use it again.
    Or use paper towels and throw them away.
  • If you need to thaw meats, do it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days or thaw in the microwave and use it right away.
  • Cook all poultry, seafood and eggs until they are done. Use a meat thermometer for poultry and meat. Dig a fork into cooked fish; it’s done when the meat flakes easily. Cooked egg whites and yolks are firm, not runny.
  • Store leftovers properly. If the food is left out for two or more hours, germs can grow. Put leftovers into the refrigerator or freezer as soon as you finish eating. Put them into shallow dishes so that they cool faster. Eat them in the next few days, before they go bad.

Preventing Fish and Shellfish Allergies

Approximately 12 million Americans suffer from true food allergies, and roughly three million of them are children (that's almost 1 out of every 25 kids). Shellfish and fish are among top foods that are the most common causes of food allergies, which also include dairy products, tree nuts (like walnuts and almonds), peanuts, soy, and wheat.

To help prevent problems with potential allergies, many pediatricians recommend not introducing fish and shellfish to children before the age of 3, particularly if there is a strong family history of food allergies. For specific guidance, consult with your pediatrician.

A food allergy is an immune system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it creates specific chemicals or “antibodies” to warn your system. The next time the individual eats that food, the immune system releases massive amounts of protective chemicals, including histamine, to attack the antibodies. These protective chemicals trigger a cascade of allergic symptoms that can include wheezing, itchy skin, runny nose, diarrhea, bloating, and tongue swelling. If you think you child has a food allergy, speak to your pediatrician to get help determine the cause.

Some food allergies, especially to nuts and shellfish, can cause life-threatening anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a sudden, severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction. Symptoms occur within minutes to two hours after contact with the allergy-causing substance but, in rare instances, may occur up to four hours later. Seek immediate medical attention if you suspect your child is having an anaphylactic response.

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Prepared by: Carrie Zisman, MS, RD