The Hidden Dangers of Parasites in Stored Salmon

[snoop1130]

 

Salmon, a favorite among many Thai people, may contain hidden parasites if not correctly handled and stored. This popular fish dish, rich in omega-3, high-quality protein, and vitamin B6, bears underlying risks when eaten raw.

 

Eating raw or semi-cooked food increases the possibility of contracting germs, bacteria, or parasites that are not destroyed by heat during cooking. Regular consumption of such food can lead to gastrointestinal ailments such as diarrhea and food poisoning. Non-standard raw food might contain dormant parasites or larvae.

 

Consuming uncooked food can expose individuals to parasites. If close to the nervous system, these parasites can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, and even epilepsy-like symptoms.

 

Sashimi, a dish typically made from marine animals and various seafood, is a common source of parasites in salmon. When eaten raw, salmon can harbor different parasites such as roundworms, tapeworms, liver leafworms, and more. These parasites can come from the environment or contamination during the cutting process.

 

According to the SSS, tapeworms are more common in pork or beef sold in Thailand compared to salmon. Consequently, when opting for raw salmon such as sushi and sashimi, it's advisable to purchase from reliable sources as improper handling increases risk.

 

The Department of Fisheries suggests that sashimi must be frozen at -35 degrees Celsius for 15 hours or -20 degrees Celsius for 7 days before consumption to kill parasites.

 

If you feel something moving in your mouth while eating salmon, stop eating it immediately. Vulnerable groups like pregnant women, children, and the elderly should refrain from consuming raw fish since infection from salmon parasites can lead to severe symptoms.

 

File photo for reference only

 

-- 2024-08-15

 

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[Cameroni]

Interesting topic for me, because I eat sushi a lot, and always wondered, seeing it lie there unrefrigerated at Central, how they ensure this salmon is safe. But so far, though I ate it a lot, never had a single issue.

[Lorry]

Maybe a third-world country is not the best place to eat raw food?

[still kicking]

7 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Maybe a third-world country is not the best place to eat raw food?

Yes, I have eaten Tartar many times in my life and never got sick just eating ones in Thailand and spend a week in the toilet.

[MalcolmB]

The salmon you get in Thailand is the farmed salmon that is fed dye to give it that color. 
 

It would be white without the additive.

 

There are other issues with it also. I used to eat a lot of it but wouldn’t touch it now.

 

 

[chickenslegs]

5 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

If you feel something moving in your mouth while eating salmon, stop eating it immediately.

Surely that rule should apply to any food.

[still kicking]

Wrong 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The flesh of the salmon fish is salmon-colored.

Salmon is a warm color ranging from light orange to pink, named after the color of salmon flesh.

The first recorded use of salmon as a color name in English was in 1776.^[1]

The actual color of salmon flesh varies from almost white to light orange, depending on their levels of the carotenoid astaxanthin, which in turn is the result of the richness of the fish's diet of krill and shrimp; salmon raised on fish farms are given non-synthetic or artificial coloring in their food.^[2][3]

The flesh of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is lighter and oranger than that of the various Pacific salmon species (from the genus Oncorhynchus).^[4]

[connda]

6 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Eating raw or semi-cooked food increases the possibility of contracting germs, bacteria, or parasites that are not destroyed by heat during cooking.

Well, yeah.  Don't eat it raw.  I'll eat sushi in Japanese restaurants, but I don't touch raw salmon.

[connda]

30 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

It would be white without the additive.

I commercial fished for salmon in Washington and Oregon and have cleaned more salmon than I want to remember.
Wild salmon is a rich pink to orange.  Some species more than others.  "White?"  You have no idea what you're talking about, not even a little.  If you're blowing smoke - just don't - it makes you look stupid. 

[still kicking]

3 minutes ago, connda said:

I commercial fished for salmon in Washington and Oregon and have cleaned more salmon than I want to remember.
Wild salmon is a rich pink to orange.  Some species more than others.  "White?"  You have no idea what you're talking about, not even a little.  If you're blowing smoke - just don't - it makes you look stupid. 

Yes read my post 

[Seth1a2a]

6 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

If you feel something moving in your mouth while eating salmon, stop eating it immediately.

 

 

    I gave up the idea of eating Salmon a long long time ago. My younger brother was treated for parasites when we were kids back in the 1960s era.....

 

 

    It's not unusual for bears to harbor parasites. In this case, the tapeworm comes from the bears' famous diet of salmon.

[Roo Island]

2 hours ago, connda said:

I commercial fished for salmon in Washington and Oregon and have cleaned more salmon than I want to remember.
Wild salmon is a rich pink to orange.  Some species more than others.  "White?"  You have no idea what you're talking about, not even a little.  If you're blowing smoke - just don't - it makes you look stupid. 

Farmed salmon isn't pink.

 

https://www.foodandwine.com/news/your-salmon-might-be-lying-you-farm-raised-salmon-isn-t-naturally-pink

 

Your Salmon Might Be Lying To You: Farm-Raised Salmon Isn't Naturally Pink

[Patong2021]

2 hours ago, Seth1a2a said:

 

 

    I gave up the idea of eating Salmon a long long time ago. My younger brother was treated for parasites when we were kids back in the 1960s era.....

 

 

    It's not unusual for bears to harbor parasites. In this case, the tapeworm comes from the bears' famous diet of salmon.

 

Bears are opportunistic omnivores. This is why they are at risk of parasites.  They eat  small rodents like ground squirrels, and groundhogs and marmots. They also eat the sick and young of ungulates (deer, moose, elk, and caribou). However, they also eat carcasses aka carrion.  Often the parasitic eggs are picked up from  the scat of other animals that contaminates the berries and vegetation that they eat.

[Seth1a2a]

1 hour ago, Patong2021 said:

. However, they also eat carcasses aka carrion.  Often the parasitic eggs are picked up from  the scat of other animals that contaminates the berries and vegetation that they eat.

 

The source of my post  was not my opinion . It was the result of the research that traced the source of the parasites directly to the bears from Salmon. Here is a link to the website article.

 

https://blog.nature.org/2021/08/17/the-disturbingly-long-tapeworms-of-alaskan-bears/

 

"The tapeworm’s eggs are in Alaskan rivers, where they are eaten by crustaceans, which are eaten by salmon, which are eaten by bears. The tapeworm lodges in the bear’s digestive tract, where it lives out its days."

 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, Seth1a2a said:

 

The source of my post  was not my opinion . It was the result of the research that traced the source of the parasites directly to the bears from Salmon. Here is a link to the website article.

 

https://blog.nature.org/2021/08/17/the-disturbingly-long-tapeworms-of-alaskan-bears/

 

"The tapeworm’s eggs are in Alaskan rivers, where they are eaten by crustaceans, which are eaten by salmon, which are eaten by bears. The tapeworm lodges in the bear’s digestive tract, where it lives out its days."

 

 

 

 

However you have missed the point that virtually no salmon you can buy has not been frozen and since the vast majority of parasites are killed by the freezing process your chances of getting infected by salmon tapeworm are virtually zero.

 

so yes raw unfrozen salmon is far from safe but since you can’t eat it you are safe

[Yagoda]

13 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

However you have missed the point that virtually no salmon you can buy has not been frozen and since the vast majority of parasites are killed by the freezing process your chances of getting infected by salmon tapeworm are virtually zero.

 

so yes raw unfrozen salmon is far from safe but since you can’t eat it you are safe

I dont eat farmed salmon. I dont eat raw salmon regardless unless its wild out of a Western restaurant

[mokwit]

7 hours ago, connda said:

I commercial fished for salmon in Washington and Oregon and have cleaned more salmon than I want to remember.
Wild salmon is a rich pink to orange.  Some species more than others.  "White?"  You have no idea what you're talking about, not even a little.  If you're blowing smoke - just don't - it makes you look stupid. 

He is talking about farmed salmon I suspect. This is grey without dyes, buyers can choose what kind of pink they want the flesh to be

[MalcolmB]

12 hours ago, connda said:

I commercial fished for salmon in Washington and Oregon and have cleaned more salmon than I want to remember.
Wild salmon is a rich pink to orange.  Some species more than others.  "White?"  You have no idea what you're talking about, not even a little.  If you're blowing smoke - just don't - it makes you look stupid. 

You keep cleaning fish, I will stick to the science 

 

https://qz.com/358811/heres-why-your-farmed-salmon-has-color-added-to-it#:~:text=Since farm-raised salmon live,chicken fat%2C genetically engineered yeast.&text=An essential ingredient in these pellets is astaxanthin.

[mokwit]

6 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

However you have missed the point that virtually no salmon you can buy has not been frozen and since the vast majority of parasites are killed by the freezing process your chances of getting infected by salmon tapeworm are virtually zero.

 

so yes raw unfrozen salmon is far from safe but since you can’t eat it you are safe

This. I bought some wild Canadian salmon here thinking it would be a tasty treat, but it was mushy due to freezing to kill parasite eggs.

[AndreasHG]

13 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

The salmon you get in Thailand is the farmed salmon that is fed dye to give it that color. 
 

It would be white without the additive.

 

There are other issues with it also. I used to eat a lot of it but wouldn’t touch it now.

 

 

BS

[AndreasHG]

100% of the salmon sold in Thailand is imported, especially from Norway, which accounts for more than 90% of the fresh fish imported in the country.

Occasionally salmon may be labelled "Product of Thailand" only because it is processed in the country. The raw fish is always imported.

 

The healthiness of the Norwegian farmed salmon, when processed properly and away from contaminants, is out of question. 

The environmental sustainability of salmon consumption in Thailand may be questioned. With so many local alternatives available, consuming a fish which is shipped by plane from Europe may not be necessary after all.

 

It's freshwater fish that requires particular attention, because of the health hazards it poses. There are many more parasites in freshwater fish that can make their homes in humans than there are in marine fish. Never consume freshwater fish unless it has been cooked properly.

[lordgrinz]

Anyone eating any "raw" meat/fish in Thailand needs to have their head examined.

[KhunLA]

I only buy frozen salmon, partly for the reason in the OP.  Kills most things, and most proteins get frozen.  Has to be below freezing.  If not frozen, then cooked to proper temp, though I usually throw most in the freezer.  Many things bought already frozen.

 

Sushi grade fish/seafood has to be frozen just for that reason.

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

However you have missed the point that virtually no salmon you can buy has not been frozen and since the vast majority of parasites are killed by the freezing process your chances of getting infected by salmon tapeworm are virtually zero.

 

so yes raw unfrozen salmon is far from safe but since you can’t eat it you are safe

Freezing does not kill bacteria and viruses. It just puts them into suspended animation. Granted it might kill parasites, being larger organisms.

 

Size matters. Smaller parasites are more resistant to freezing.

 

I've never had a problem in more than ten years here, with two rules:

 

# Unless a street stall cooks the food in my presence, I won't eat it.

 

# Any protein I cook myself gets tested with a meat thermometer. 70 C minimum, using an air fryer.

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Salmon, a favorite among many Thai people, may contain hidden parasites if not correctly handled and stored. This popular fish dish, rich in omega-3, high-quality protein, and vitamin B6, bears underlying risks when eaten raw

Unless Thailand farms salmon how is it shipped here raw?

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

If you feel something moving in your mouth while eating salmon, stop eating it immediately.

What?

[FlorC]

And that is just for human consumption !

I worry about the cr_p in the fish in cat food.

Wet or dry . 

 

[johng]

Anyone for Ivermectin yet ?

[Presnock]

16 hours ago, connda said:

I commercial fished for salmon in Washington and Oregon and have cleaned more salmon than I want to remember.
Wild salmon is a rich pink to orange.  Some species more than others.  "White?"  You have no idea what you're talking about, not even a little.  If you're blowing smoke - just don't - it makes you look stupid. 

Yeah I heard today that if one is buying "quality" salmon, then the package must have the word "wild" in it or it will be farmed salmon.  Just saying as I sure don't know but sounds correct to me.

 

[stoutfella]

3 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

100% of the salmon sold in Thailand is imported, especially from Norway, which accounts for more than 90% of the fresh fish imported in the country.

Occasionally salmon may be labelled "Product of Thailand" only because it is processed in the country. The raw fish is always imported.

 

The healthiness of the Norwegian farmed salmon, when processed properly and away from contaminants, is out of question. 

The environmental sustainability of salmon consumption in Thailand may be questioned. With so many local alternatives available, consuming a fish which is shipped by plane from Europe may not be necessary after all.

 

It's freshwater fish that requires particular attention, because of the health hazards it poses. There are many more parasites in freshwater fish that can make their homes in humans than there are in marine fish. Never consume freshwater fish unless it has been cooked properly.

Hasn't it been widely reported that farmed Norwegian salmon is some of the most toxic fish on the planet?