General guidelines for purchasing seafood
- The flesh of high quality fresh seafood is firm and resilient.
- The skin is shiny.
- The gills of most finfish should be blood red.
- High quality fish have bright and clear eyes.
- The scales should adhere closely to the skin and be largely intact.
- Odors should be pleasant and minimal.
Receiving
- Inspect your order of Alaska Seafood immediately upon delivery.
- Boxes with watermarks may indicate that the product has been allowed to partially thaw during transit.
- Open at least one carton per shipment and check the core product temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
- Fresh fish should be delivered at 30-38° F and frozen fish at 0-10° F.
- If the temperature does not meet shipping specifications, notify both the carrier and supplier immediately.
- Next, check the net weights of the glazed product. If you are not sure how to do this, please call or write our Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute quality assurance program.
- Check the quality again after proper thawing. The only thing you should smell is the sea.