We love our local gulf seafood, but how can you be sure what you’re getting is safe for consumption?

Purchasing seafood from a local market to cook at home (or in your beach rental) doesn’t have to be scary. Just follow a few easy steps!

1) Buy from a reputable source. Many of the seafood markets along the coast offer catches fresh off the boat. But if you have any questions about where a product originated, just ask. Fresh fish has a mild seawater smell, but not an unpleasant “fish smell.” Drying or darkening around the edges of a fish filet is a sign that it is not fresh.

2) Keep the seafood cold. Have it packed on ice or put it in a cooler for the ride to your destination, even if it’s just 30 minutes away. Make it your last purchase of the day.

Be sure your refrigerator is at 40 degrees or lower, and put the seafood in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Keep it on the ice – but put a bowl under it to catch the drips. Catching your own fish? Don’t let it sit on the deck. Immediately bury your catch in a cooler filled with ice.

3) Be sure that whoever is preparing the seafood does so in a clean area. Never let raw seafood or its juices come in contact with other foods.

4) Properly cook seafood to an internal temperature of 145 degrees for 15 seconds or until the flesh is opaque and flaky. Use a food thermometer in the thickest part of the filet.

If you have concerns about high mercury levels in fish, keep in mind that smaller fish contain less mercury. A chart from the Natural Resources Defense Council lists flounder, crab, shrimp, oysters, mullet, whitefish and salmon as those with the least mercury. Bass, cod, mahi mahi, snapper and sheepshead also have low amounts.

Follow basic food safety tips and enjoy that fresh gulf seafood when you visit the Alabama coast.