U.S . Salmon may carry Japanese tapeworm, scientists say

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GotGarlic

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Sushi lovers, and others who love undercooked or raw salmon, be careful out there.

If you eat raw or undercooked fish, you risk developing an infection from parasites.

One of the most gruesome is tapeworm, a species of digestive tract-invading parasites that includes Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense, or the Japanese broad tapeworm.

Though this worm was commonly believed to infect only fish in Asia, a study published Wednesday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's monthly journal*Emerging Infectious Diseases*says wild salmon caught in Alaska had also been infected by this parasite.

Based on those results, researchers warn that salmon caught anywhere along the Pacific coast of North America may be infected.

US salmon may carry Japanese tapeworm, scientists say - CNN.com
 
I could use a tapeworm or two after all my holiday eating ....:blink:

Just kidding, of course.

I saw this yesterday and then proceeded to cook up some delicious sockeye salmon from Wegman's for dinner. But it had been frozen... so hopefully we'll be ok.

Its a shame to have to overcook salmon though ...
 
My brother told me about this a couple or three years ago. He completely stopped ordering raw salmon at sushi joints since.

There were signs in some sushi restaurants about how they freeze the fish or use the fish that was commercially frozen specifically to illuminate this problem years and years ago.
 
"The FDA has required all fish (with the exception of tuna) destined to be served raw in the U.S. to be frozen at a minimum of minus four degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or minus thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen hours. Either process will kill any and all parasites inside of a fish. Freezing in this method happens so quickly that the ice crystals that form are very short and don't pierce through cell walls, and so the fish can legally be sold as “Fresh.” Home freezers cannot freeze this quickly and so not only do parasites survive the process but the long time lapse of freezing creates long ice crystals that pierce cell wall after cell wall as they grow. Freeze a strawberry or onion in your home freezer and let it thaw and you will get a very dramatic example of what damage can occur. "

How safe is your sushi? Part Two: Parasites! - Eatsushi
 
"The FDA has required all fish (with the exception of tuna) destined to be served raw in the U.S. to be frozen at a minimum of minus four degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or minus thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen hours. Either process will kill any and all parasites inside of a fish. Freezing in this method happens so quickly that the ice crystals that form are very short and don't pierce through cell walls, and so the fish can legally be sold as “Fresh.” Home freezers cannot freeze this quickly and so not only do parasites survive the process but the long time lapse of freezing creates long ice crystals that pierce cell wall after cell wall as they grow. Freeze a strawberry or onion in your home freezer and let it thaw and you will get a very dramatic example of what damage can occur. "

How safe is your sushi? Part Two: Parasites! - Eatsushi

Thanks, Jenny.

Yay, my new fridge does -6 F, so I can eat salmon!

Actually, this report made me a little sick thinking of how much we eat salmon sashimi at home. We've been eating salmon, and octopus, scallop, bluefin tuna, and fluke an awful lot lately. I'd say about once a week. Well, not all of them, just one or two each time.

But now I can just deep freeze it. :)
 
to be frozen at a minimum of minus four degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or minus thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen hours.

Freezing in this method happens so quickly that the ice crystals that form are very short and don't pierce through cell walls,

Home freezers cannot freeze this quickly and so not only do parasites survive the process but the long time lapse of freezing creates long ice crystals that pierce cell wall after cell wall as they grow.

Freeze a strawberry or onion in your home freezer and let it thaw and you will get a very dramatic example of what damage can occur. "

How safe is your sushi? Part Two: Parasites! - Eatsushi

Thanks, Jenny.

Yay, my new fridge does -6 F, so I can eat salmon!

But now I can just deep freeze it. :)

Bucky, I know that some freezer have a zone for "quick freezing".. is that what you mean? hope so! and don't forget the length of time they recommend!

I can't eat sushi, etc. makes me gag, I do like smoked salmon but if the texture is too raw like I can't swallow even that. Even my cooked salmon fillets or steaks must flake. No rare for me! :ermm::LOL:
 
and don't even suggest cerviche! :doh:

whether or not it is technically 'cooked' - the texture makes me gag! :sick:

I tried to "mind over matter" but in my brain it is still raw. :wacko:
 
dragn, the actual lowest temp setting for the freezer is -6 ° F, (we keep it at 0) but it also has some kind of quick freeze feature. I haven't played with that yet.
 
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and don't even suggest cerviche! :doh:

whether or not it is technically 'cooked' - the texture makes me gag! :sick:

I tried to "mind over matter" but in my brain it is still raw. :wacko:


Lol. I love ceviche.

I often think of how bears must feel, how happy they are tearing into a nice, buttery hunk of fresh salmon.
 
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