Is it Safe to Order Online Seafood?

Seafood is delicious, but it can be expensive and a waste of time to trek to a restaurant or a store to pick up what you want. Luckily, there are ample spots online where you can order seafood right at your front door. Of course, this begs the question - is it safe to invest in online seafood?

Read on to learn whether or not it’s safe to order your seafood from online sources. We’ll dive into some of our tips for purchasing seafood, how to tell if your seafood is safe to eat, and where to invest the most high-quality seafood online.

Use a Reputable Company

The first thing to do when you order seafood online is to use a reputable company. You want a business that has excellent reviews from those who have used the site before and tasted the seafood delivered to their home. You also need excellent reviews from several sources, especially when buying something like seafood.

Top places to check for reviews include:

• Google
• Yelp
• Facebook
• Consumer Reports
• Better Business Bureau (BBB)

These are top sites for checking out what people say about an online seafood site.

For example, a site like Kolikof Caviar & Gourmet has 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google, 5 stars on Facebook, and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Yelp. These are excellent reviews, and any other site that scores similarly will ensure you’re getting excellent seafood delivered right to your front door. 

No matter which company you choose, we recommend always checking for reviews before ordering.

Order When You’ll Be Home

Most online seafood, including lobster or stone crab, will arrive frozen or heavily refrigerated. Thus, once it’s dropped off in front of your door, it’s critical not to leave it sitting out for too long, or you risk the package getting stolen or the food inside rotting if it becomes exposed to weather conditions - especially if you purchase seafood during the summer.

Try to order your seafood for a day when you will:

• Be home
• Be on vacation from work
• Have a family member or friend available to wait for you shipment

Always ensure at least one person will be there to pick up your seafood package and bring it inside.

As soon as you access your ordered seafood, try to place your seafood in the fridge, freezer, or cook it for your next meal. The second you can place ordered seafood in a chilled area, the longer it will last and the tastier it will be when it’s time to eat. Also, it will keep you safe from harm in weather-impacted seafood.

Utilize Excellent Storage Techniques

To keep seafood like shellfish or anchovies in excellent condition, you must use proper storage techniques. That means refrigerating or freezing properly and then thawing properly.

For perishables that are refrigerated:

• Use proper temperature
• Utilize by use-by-date

For perishables that are frozen:

• Freeze immediately upon receipt 
• Freeze for up to one year
• Cook within 24 hours of thawing

Safe handling instructions:

• Thaw in the refrigerator
• Keep cold or frozen until use
• Keep raw meat away from other food items
• Wash all working surfaces
• Cook thoroughly
• Keep hot foods hot

These will keep your meal as safe as possible. 

It’s critical not to mess around if you invest in seafood that requires refrigeration or freezing, or your food could rot before you can enjoy it. Also, handle it correctly—you don’t want to get any of the raw juices from the seafood into food that isn’t going to be cooked off before ingesting. 

Which Seafood is Safest to Order Online?

Finally, when you want to order online seafood and ensure it will be safe to eat, it’s helpful to know which types of seafood are the safest to purchase from the internet. Some are more prone to weather shifts and ill-handling than others, so if you’re nervous about getting it wrong, we recommend these.

The safest seafood to order online includes the following:

• Anchovies & Tuna
• Smoked Salmon

These are sturdier than their counterparts. If you order any of these foods, they are much sturdier than other seafood selections, so you will have slightly more time to get it from the box to safe storage conditions. However, it’s still vital to act as soon as possible to prevent the anchovies, smoked salmon, or tuna from falling apart. 

How Can You Tell If Seafood Is Safe To Eat?

It’s one thing to get seafood delivered to your door, but it’s another thing to determine if it’s safe to ingest. If you get seafood online and there’s something wrong with it, you risk getting seriously sick or hurting yourself. Always look for indications of spoiled or rotten seafood before taking a bite, whether you’ve cooked it or not. 

To tell if the seafood delivered to your door is safe, here are the things you should look for in your food:

• Sour Taste/Smell
• Rancid Smell
• Fishy Odors 

You might notice these in cooked or uncooked versions purchased online.

Unfortunately, there are many ways seafood can go bad from the ocean to your front door. The most common cause, especially if the seafood is frozen, is if the product thaws while shipping and is left in the heat for too long. To ensure this doesn’t happen, you need a trustworthy company like Kolikof Caviar & Gourmet.

Where Can You Purchase High-Quality Seafood Online?

Many stores offer seafood online, so there are ample options available. However, it can be tricky to distinguish safe and reputable stores from those that might cause you to get sick. If you want a recommendation, we have one for you.