Someone ought to write an article explaining the right way to do these things, rather than just telling us to do it right:

> Thawing vacuum-packed fish correctly

> Improper thawing of vacuum-packed fish can lead to a foodborne illness. Learn how to do it safely.

> It is important to handle the fish correctly, as there is a risk for bacterial growth that can lead to a foodborne illness if the product is handled incorrectly.

> Michigan State University Extension advises keeping food, such as fish that is vacuum packaged, at the proper temperature and/or thawing the product correctly.

> When thawing, it is very important to follow thawing guidelines provided by the processor that will be located on the packaging of the fish.

> It is important to follow the thawing recommendations when preparing the product at home to keep your family safe from foodborne illness.

I'll go farther. This is an abysmal article.

It fails at the primary goal of clearly telling the reader how to avoid the danger. And the lone paragraph that mentions the actual solution ("Opening the packaging while thawing the vacuum packaged fish, introduces oxygen and the spores will not produce the vegetative cells that produce the toxin") bizarrely puts equal emphasis on labeling law applicable only to producers.

It is unbelievable how badly this article misses the point. I'd accuse it of being AI generated slop, but I don't think a modern AI would miss the point this badly. The linked Clemson article is much better: https://hgic.clemson.edu/thawing-vacuum-packed-fish/

The URL contains "open_your_vacuum_packed_fish_before_thawing" but neither headline nor article says this directly.

It actually does say it directly, it's just incredibly fucking buried:

> Opening the packaging while thawing the vacuum packaged fish, introduces oxygen and the spores will not produce the vegetative cells that produce the toxin.

TIL: open it before thawing to prevent botulinum toxin production.

Alternately: "Warm and sealed is actually more dangerous than warm and opened."

I just pull the plastic off and microwave it for a half hour in the combined convection oven/microwave mode till its crispy and then eat it. Pretty sure no botulinum can grow that way. In general I feel that "microwave/bake till slightly crispy" is a underrated food preparation method and I feel very Diogenes-esque for having discovered it.

One sentence summary: Remove vacuum sealing and thaw in temperature below 38°F / 3.3°C.

Remove from freezer, remove from packaging, place in a bowl with optional marinade, and return to the refrigerator for several hours before cooking.

38°F is 3.3°C, for those of us in the rest of the world.

Is this true of other vacuum-packed meats? Or are the primary of pathogens of concern aerobic for those?

It's true even for vegetables. Clostridium botulinum bacteria is anaerobic

Aha! they did a good job trying to conceal their message in today's PSA but I found it nevertheless: "Opening the packaging while thawing the vacuum packaged fish, introduces oxygen and the spores will not produce the vegetative cells that produce the toxin."

How much oxygen would they need to leave in the packaging to avoid botulism?

Is there a happy medium that would still preserve the fish but avoid risk of botulism?

tl; dr:

> Opening the packaging while thawing the vacuum packaged fish, introduces oxygen and the spores will not produce the vegetative cells that produce the toxin.

I do appreciate some context for educated readers, but holy, that was a lot of fluff.