How to cook fish safely in your food business

This article has been written by Pilla Founder, Liam Jones, click to email Liam directly, he reads every email.

Fish products will require extra care to ensure food safety. Steps must be taken in your processes and procedures to ensure that these foods are not a risk to consumers. Staff must follow the safety points above in order to achieve a consistent level of safety.

Storage

Any species of oily fish can present a high risk of scombrotoxic fish poisoning. Examples include anchovy, fresh tuna and mackerel. Once fish have been caught, they require strict temperature controls to control spoilage bacteria which can convert a natural amino acid called histidine into histamine. Histamine is the chemical compound in the body which is responsible for the symptoms of allergic reactions i.e. Skin reactions and swelling of the facial area, gastro-intestinal problems, breathing and circulatory problems.Therefore, scombrotoxic fish poisoning will have many similarities to a severe allergic reaction.

One recognition feature of this occurring is when a number of diners display the same symptoms who have consumed the same food, as opposed to a single person undergoing an allergic reaction to a product.This toxin is very heat resistant and will not be destroyed or denatured by standard cooking temperatures.Low storage temperatures are critical throughout the supply chain from trawler to kitchen fridge, therefore, the appointment of reputable suppliers is very important for safety.

Cooking

Check the texture and the colour of the fish to ensure thorough cooking, probe the food once cooked to verify the temperature. Only whole fish such as tuna steaks may be served raw.Undercooked fish can contain pathogenic bacteria as well as parasites e.g. Flukes, roundworms and tapeworms.

Using pre-cooked fish

Using pre-cooked products present less of a risk as long as they are stored, handled and cooked properly. Follow manufacturer’s instructions strictly.When they are cooked check that they are piping hot throughout, check with a clean food probe to verify temperature.

Scombrotoxic fish poisoning controls

Scombroid occurs from eating fish high in histamine due to inappropriate storage or processing. Fish commonly implicated include:tuna, mackerel, sardine, anchovy, herring, bluefish, amberjack, and marlin. These fish naturally have high levels of histidine which is converted to histamine when bacterial growth occurs during improper storage. Subsequent cooking, smoking, or freezing does not eliminate the histamine.

The following procedures must be followed to lower the risk of histamine developing in fish. This can happen at temperatures above 5°c.

1/ check the temperature of the product as it arrives on the delivery and refuse delivery if fish temperature is above 5°c.

2/ on receipt of the delivery place the fish quickly and immediately into cold storage.

3/ place the fish on a bed of ice in a water tight container in the fridge.

4/ use the product within the manufacturers use by date, this must not be exceeded under any circumstances.

5/ avoid freezing, if you must freeze, freeze on the day of delivery, straight from the fridge and follow the date labelling procedure.

6/ fish stored in a freezer must be labelled accordingly and used within one month.

7/ when thawing a frozen product, this must be done under strict conditions as the temperature must not exceed 5°c. Defrosting must take place in a fridge and never under ambient conditions.

8/ whilst stored under refrigerated conditions fish must be stored on ice to maintain the low temperature during storage. The fish must be used within two days.

9/ only store the minimal amount of fish in service fridge at any one time as temperature fluctuations can compromise safety.

10/ if the storage temperature of oily fish rises above 5°c it must either be cooked immediately and used or discarded.

11/ if you are unsure about the safety of oily fish, do not risk it, discard immediately.

Corrective actions if things go wrong

• •Inform the head chef if a delivery is not delivered according to strict procedures.
• •Tuna that has not been supplied with a freezing declaration must not be served raw, it must be stored, handled and cooked as normal.
• •Fish not stored under strict conditions must be discarded.
• •Discard fish that has not been handled correctly or may have become contaminated.
• •If staff do not follow the safety points above retrain them and increase supervision until competency can be shown.