Seafood Handling Best Practices

Seafood should be received cold and inspected for freshness, stored over ice in a dedicated fridge, kept separate from ready-to-eat foods, and — for raw dishes like sashimi — sourced and frozen to control parasites. Seafood is one of the most challenging products in a restaurant: it spoils rapidly, can carry pathogens like Vibrio and parasites, and represents two of Australia's major allergen groups in crustacea and molluscs. Tight cold-chain discipline and clear separation are the foundations of safe seafood handling. This guide walks through best practice from receival to plate, including ice management, storage, raw-fish parasite control, and shellfish allergen management. Why Is Seafood High Risk? Seafood deteriorates faster than most proteins because of its natural enzymes and bacteria. Some species can carry Vibrio bacteria, and certain wild fish can harbour parasites that are only controlled by cooking or freezing. On top of that, crustacea and molluscs are declared allergens capable of causing severe reactions. Australian seafood is regulated under both the Food Standards Code and state primary production and processing standards, so traceability back to a reputable supplier matters. Fresh seafood is also a potentially hazardous food, meaning it must be kept under temperature control to stay out of the 5°C to 60°C danger zone. Because several seafood hazards are set before the product reaches you and cannot be undone in the kitchen, your defences are essentially two: buy well, and keep it cold at every step from the delivery dock to the plate. Receival and Ice Management Freshness is decided at delivery: Probe-check on arrival and reject seafood above 5°C, or above the tighter limit some highly perishable species require. Inspect quality — clear bright eyes, firm springy flesh, intact scales, and a clean sea smell rather than a strong or sour odour. Maintain ice contact throughout storage so product stays as cold as possible. Drain melted ice and replenish it daily so seafood never sits in warm water. Storage Store seafood on perforated trays over ice in a dedicated fridge so meltwater drains away rather than pooling. Keep raw seafood physically separated from cooked and ready-to-eat foods, and use dedicated colour-coded boards (commonly blue) and knives for fish. Label everything with receival and use-by dates and apply strict FIFO rotation, because the safe window is short. Raw and Lightly Cooked Fish Dishes Raw fish dishes such as sashimi, ceviche, tartare and crudo carry a parasite risk in some species. FSANZ guidance is that fish intended to be eaten raw or lightly cooked should be frozen to control parasites, unless the species and source are known to present no parasite risk. In practice this means: Source from a reputable supplier who can document species and origin. Use the appropriate freezing regime to control parasites for at-risk species. Record your freeze process and supplier credentials so you can demonstrate control. Keep raw-service product ruthlessly cold and separated from other prep. Managing Shellfish Allergens Crustacea (such as prawns, crab and lobster) and molluscs (such as oysters, mussels and squid) are among the allergens that must be declared under Plain English Allergen Labelling. Reactions can be severe. Prevent cross-contact by using clearly separated preparation areas, dedicated utensils and, where possible, dedicated cooking equipment. Note that crustacea and molluscs are declared as distinct groups, so identify which is present in each dish. Live Shellfish and Oysters Live bivalve molluscs such as oysters, mussels and clams need extra care because they are often eaten raw and filter-feed, concentrating any contaminants in their growing waters. Buy only from approved, traceable suppliers who can provide harvest area and batch information, keep the supplier tags with the product, and store live shellfish cold and unsealed so they can breathe rather than suffocating in water or an airtight container. Discard any that are dead, damaged or fail to close when tapped before cooking. Serve raw oysters as fresh as possible and keep them iced right up to service. Ciguatera and Scombroid Awareness Two seafood-specific hazards are worth knowing. Scombroid (histamine) poisoning occurs when fish such as tuna, mackerel and mahi-mahi are temperature-abused, allowing histamine to form; this histamine is not destroyed by cooking, which is why the cold chain from catch to plate is so important. Ciguatera is a naturally occurring toxin found in some large tropical reef fish and cannot be removed by cooking or freezing, so it is managed through species selection and sourcing. Neither hazard is controlled by your kitchen fridge alone — both depend on buying from reputable suppliers and keeping fish cold at every step. Cook Temperatures for Seafood For seafood that is served cooked rather than raw, cook to a core temperature that reliably destroys pathogens — commonly a 63°C to 75°C core depending on the product and your process — verified with a calibrated probe. Fish is cooked when the flesh is opaque and flakes cleanly. Shellfish such as prawns turn opaque and firm; mussels and clams open. Discard mussels or clams that stay firmly shut after cooking. Keep cooked seafood separated from raw, and hot-hold at 60°C or above if it is not served immediately. Seafood Traceability and Supplier Records Because so many seafood hazards — histamine, ciguatera, contaminated growing waters, mislabelled species — are decided before the product reaches your kitchen, traceability is one of your most important controls. Buy from reputable, licensed suppliers who can document species, harvest area and cold-chain handling, and keep the delivery records, invoices and any shellfish harvest tags. If a problem is later identified with a batch or a growing area, these records let you quickly determine whether you received affected product and act on it. Traceability also protects you agains