What to look for when buying seafood

When purchasing whole fish:

• Bright and lustrous skin or scales

• Firm flesh that springs back when touched

• Bright pink-red gills

• Pleasant fresh sea smell.

When purchasing fillets and cutlets:

• Bright, lustrous and firm flesh

• Any dark muscle should be pink-red in colour

• Pleasant fresh sea smell

• No discolouration, gaping or bruising.

When purchasing crustaceans and molluscs:

• Brightly coloured, lustrous shells or flesh

• Firm, intact shells, heads, tentacles or flesh

• Shells closed or close when tapped or gently squeezed

• Pleasant fresh sea smell

• No discolouration, particularly at joints.