Love for Seafood Nothing Fishy

Seafood has been consumed by humans for centuries. They have loved it and have mastered in making various dishes from the sea animals and plants. The consumption of seafood has increased and many restaurants globally cater to this need of giving best-in-class seafood to customers. India’s coastal areas are known for their beaches and seafood. With a wide coastline, India has emerged as one of the major seafood exporting countries in the world. However, there has been an impact on the consumption of seafood due to the belief that corona virus originated from wet market in China and its consumption could cause COVID 19. Ashok Malkani takes a look at the consumers’ love for seafood and gauges whether the pandemic has affected their yearning for this food.

- Ashok Malkani

India is a land of exotic fishes and seafood, which comprises several sea animals as well as plants. This delicious gastronomical fare is the coveted cuisine all over the globe. But the recent coronavirus pandemic has made people wary of consuming this fare because Covid 19 is believed to have emerged from the wet market in Wuhan.

This concept is contradicted by Kamlesh Salve, Executive Chef, The Mirador Hotel, Mumbai. He explains that a wet market is one that merely sells fish and other seafood. He continues, “Wet markets are typically large collections of open-air stalls selling fresh seafood, meat, fruits, and vegetables. Some wet markets sell and slaughter live animals on-site, including chickens, fish, and shellfish. Buying, selling, and slaughtering wild animals for food is one way an animal-borne disease may infect people. Viruses can spread more easily if animals in markets are sick or kept in dirty, cramped conditions, such as in stacked cages. When animals are under duress, viral pathogens can intermingle, swap bits of their genetic code, and perhaps mutate in ways that make them more transmissible between species. In the case of respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, the virus can jump to food handlers or customers through exposure to an animal’s bodily fluids.”

So from the above statement, it is clear that COVID 19 has not emerged from seafood. It would seem that seafood is safe for consumption.

But how does one convince the customers about the safety that the hotels take to ensure that seafood – as well as all other food is prepared in a hygienic manner?