Food posioning from fish at room temp?

[Paul C]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

I almost kicked the bucket in camp in Tumbler Ridge, after eating spoiled Trout that the campy cooked for us. Almost everyone got E-coli, and good lord, it was awful. I would not wish that on anyone.

Think of it this way:

With all the bacteria in the intestinal system of any animal/ fish, as soon as it has perished, the immune system no longer keeps the bacteria in check.

Surrounded by food, the bacteria immediately goes to work on decomposing the fish, which has a higher water content than red meat. The bacteria will take over very fast, and you are taking chances if you decide to consume that meat the longer you leave it at room temp.

Clean your fish IMMEDIATELY after death. Remove the gills, and the entrails completely, including the kidneys, that run along the spine on most fish. IDEALLY, pack the fish with snow or ice and leave it belly side down to let the excess blood and fluid drain from the meat. This will enhance the meaningful flavors of the fish.

I read this in a smoking handbook, I forget the name of it. Since I have been doing this, the fish I have cooked for company usually gets compliments.

Times 2 proper handling makes sense.

[Fishfinder]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

I almost kicked the bucket in camp in Tumbler Ridge, after eating spoiled Trout that the campy cooked for us. Almost everyone got E-coli, and good lord, it was awful. I would not wish that on anyone.

Think of it this way:

With all the bacteria in the intestinal system of any animal/ fish, as soon as it has perished, the immune system no longer keeps the bacteria in check.

Surrounded by food, the bacteria immediately goes to work on decomposing the fish, which has a higher water content than red meat. The bacteria will take over very fast, and you are taking chances if you decide to consume that meat the longer you leave it at room temp.

Clean your fish IMMEDIATELY after death. Remove the gills, and the entrails completely, including the kidneys, that run along the spine on most fish. IDEALLY, pack the fish with snow or ice and leave it belly side down to let the excess blood and fluid drain from the meat. This will enhance the meaningful flavors of the fish.

I read this in a smoking handbook, I forget the name of it. Since I have been doing this, the fish I have cooked for company usually gets compliments.

I like ur style my friend
I may be wrong but pretty sure e-coli only comes from beef.

[Jimboy]

Originally Posted by fisherwoman

I really don't want to waste the meat. And usually I do clean the fish on the ice and take the guts home. And I agree, I'm sure I've ticked off someone on the board already. But not a whole lot I could do about it one-handed
He is cleaning them now, but the meat is very soggy. I might have to be a gunie pig and eat one to see if it stays down or not! Worst that can happen is I loose my lunch right? Or could I actually do myself harm?

Why take the guts home , coyotes and other wildlife like to eat too , as far as storing fish in the bathtub , l hope your tub was clean , l put mine in the fridge in plastic bags.

[baitfisher83]

ok This has probably been covered, but i took the whole fish out of my freezer today, and am thawing them in the sink, is this going to be safe to eat?

[Joe Fehr]

If your leaving them overnight put them in the fridge, if your cooking them tonight you are fine. There are some real good tips on food safety here and can be applied to all foods not just fish.

Stay safe even when your cooking your food.

[baitfisher83]

i'll likely cook them off tonight, just to get it over with, dont think they're fully thawed yet though

[baitfisher83]

Decided against eating them, since i opened up one of them and some of the meat didnt look right....next time I go for burbs i'm gonna have to take some supplies to clean them on the ice...

[Fishfinder]

Originally Posted by baitfisher83

Decided against eating them, since i opened up one of them and some of the meat didnt look right....next time I go for burbs i'm gonna have to take some supplies to clean them on the ice...

It sounds like u handled them fine. U may have just had 1 nasty burb outta the bunch likely not from anything u did though. Other ones probably woulda been fine. Always better to gut them as soon as u can (as mentioned above) but if the meat looks questionable, then ya, toss it.

[baitfisher83]

I think i'm gonna have to invest in some supplies to gut them with on the ice...I have a filletting knife but it's too long and that makes it a pain to handle

[slingshotz]

I've never had an issue with fish that gets frozen on the ice, it's actually better than in the summer as the fish gets basically flash frozen. I defrost the fish just enough to scale/skin it and get the guts out. I don't usually bother to fillet fish other than burbs so the flesh usually stays frozen.

[Joe Fehr]

Originally Posted by baitfisher83

I think i'm gonna have to invest in some supplies to gut them with on the ice...I have a filletting knife but it's too long and that makes it a pain to handle

Bring a 2x4 a nail and a hammer, skin and take the fillets off. Easy and quick once you do a time or two then all you got is some tasty fillets. Oh make sure you got a decent pair of needle nose pliers with you too.

[bearb8er]

Well here in AB you better be careful about completely cleaning fish till you are home. To stay within the letter of the law some skin of any species must stay attached - to prove species. Anything that has a size restiction must also stay 'whole' can be gutted and gilled but that's it.

If it freezes while your on the lake thaw it at home and clean it. Actually like filleting way better if it is a little stiff. I wouldn't wait 24 hours to clean it - but crap happens.

Baitfisher I'm confident the burbs will be fine. If you opened up the belly to gut the meat will look funny - the belly is usually off color and very fatty. Most don't try to use meat from this area. If you knew this already - than just disreguard! But again have cleaned many burbs over the years and most have arrived home frozen. Just cleaned them when they thawed and ate.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by Fishfinder

I like ur style my friend
I may be wrong but pretty sure e-coli only comes from beef.

Thanks Finder

E-coli is a bacteria, which like other bacteria, grows in it's ideal favorable environment. Beef, typically ground beef, is one of those favorable environments.

You may recall the E-coli outbreak in 2006 that covered most of the United States, that was distributed in tainted spinach shipments. Your baby spinach salad had to wait until the outbreak was contained, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of spinach was compromised.

E-coli is not a small tummy tumble. It is a serious bacteria that can very quickly become fatal. If it enters the body cavity from the GI tract, (perhaps through an ulcer, or bowel perforation) it can kill the host very quickly, without proper medical treatment.

You are correct Fishfinder, it is commonly found in beef. It is also in most warm blooded organisms, residing in the lower intestine. Hence why beef is a common host, which then gets passed onto humans. The evidence of a cattle liner will attest, feces gets in most places a cow has hair. That bacteria can live outside on dry surfaces, which can then be passed onto another host not just from oral ingestion.

Be careful!!! I swear I have not made sounds like I did when our rig was hit with it. If you question the food you are about to eat, it can be utilized elsewhere, like the aforementioned compost. Don't take any chances! You might fight it off, but your children and the elderly will have a considerably more difficult battle.

[baitfisher83]

Thats why I didn't wanna take the risk, I have a 7 year old daughter and 2 elderly grandparents in the house..