How to Store Seafood

When storing seafood you should pay attention to the following:

- Store your seafood in the refrigerator if you intend to use it within two days after purchase. In case you will not use your seafood within two days after purchase, wrap it in moisture-proof paper or plastic wrap, placed in a heavy plastic bag, or stored in an air-tight, rigid container, and store it in the freezer. Keep the temperature of the refrigerator between 34° and 40°F, and of your freezer at 0°F or colder, as close to -20°F as possible.

- Shelf life of the following seafood:

• Squid and freshly shucked clams: 1-2 days
• Shrimp and scallops: 2-3 days
• Freshly shucked oysters: 5-7 seven days
• Mussels and clams in the shell: 2-3 days
• Oysters in the shell: 7-10 days
• Live lobsters and crabs: cook in the same day they are purchased

-  Frozen seafood should be stored in the freezer. Get the best quality of your frozen fish or shellfish by using them within three to six months. After longer periods it is more probably they loose flavor and texture. Once your seafood is unfrozen, do not refreeze it.

- When freezing fish at home, wash it under running, cold water and then dry it with paper towel. After that wrap it plastic wrap, then overwrap it with freezer paper or foil. Another option is to use the plastic bags for freezer. Label the package with the date and content. Finally put the package in the coldest part of the freezer, in order to quickly freeze.