I've seen the extensive postings in this group about avoiding the
consumption of raw wild Pacific salmon due to parasites. I have a few
questions along those lines:

1) I occasionally eat tuna from my local grocery store (in Seattle). It is
usually just their standard tuna steak cut, not the "sashimi-grade" Ahi that
they sometimes carry. The guy behind the counter told me that it's fine to
eat the non-sashimi grade. Is it?

2) I've been eyeing those big farm-raised salmon fillets at Costco and the
grocery store. Without regard to flavor, would those be safe to eat raw?

3) Is "freezing to weaken parasites" a good measure to take with salmon?
I've heard the measure described as a silver bullet for parasites, and I've
heard others say that it is still risky even if you freeze it. Basically,
if I buy one of those farm-raised fished, freeze and thaw it, should I be
okay?

Thanks all.

"Ken" > wrote in message
news:wTFDc.101544$2i5.48126@attbi_s52...
> I've seen the extensive postings in this group about avoiding the
> consumption of raw wild Pacific salmon due to parasites. I have a few
> questions along those lines:
>
> 1) I occasionally eat tuna from my local grocery store (in Seattle). It is
> usually just their standard tuna steak cut, not the "sashimi-grade" Ahi
that
> they sometimes carry. The guy behind the counter told me that it's fine
to
> eat the non-sashimi grade. Is it?
>
Who knows. Lots and lots of Americans eat Tuna Steak grilled "rare".
Thats not all so far from "raw" at all.

> 2) I've been eyeing those big farm-raised salmon fillets at Costco and the
> grocery store. Without regard to flavor, would those be safe to eat raw?
>
Farm raised salmon raw-as-is probably has a far lesser chance of parasites
being present than wild salmon. I know lots of people who eat farm raised
salmon raw as-is, whereas these same people would not do that with wild
salmon.

> 3) Is "freezing to weaken parasites" a good measure to take with salmon?
> I've heard the measure described as a silver bullet for parasites, and
I've
> heard others say that it is still risky even if you freeze it. Basically,
> if I buy one of those farm-raised fished, freeze and thaw it, should I be
> okay?
>
Freezing to weaken any possible parasites is a good measure to take.
Another measure if you are so inclined is to marinate the salmon in salt and
vingar overnight, then cut off all the parts that have turned brownish from
the
vinegar. Of course your salmon may have already been frozen once before
sale.

> 3) Is "freezing to weaken parasites" a good measure to
> take with salmon? I've heard the measure described as a
> silver bullet for parasites, and I've heard others say that
> it is still risky even if you freeze it. Basically, if I
> buy one of those farm-raised fished, freeze and thaw it,
> should I be okay?

This sort of Q comes up several times a year (most recently,
March 2004) and should be in the FAQ at www.sushifaq.com .

You should google a.f.s for "anisakis" as a keyword for most
of the "home freezing" threads. Basically, home freezing is
slow, unlike professional FLASH FREEZING at ultra-low
temperatures and will not preserve freshness or quality.

Home freezers and professional freezers are at different
temperatures and will require different amounts of time to
reach the FDA recommended safety points. See the anisakis
threads for links to the FDA, UCSD and U. Md. web sites
on freezing fish for sushi.

From info in a.f.s, it seems that anisakis is less of a
problem in farmed salmon. Freezing does not deal with other
pathogens that might be introduced in the handling process.
E.g., if fish and fowl are processed in the same area of a
market or with unwashed knives and cutting boards or by a
single butcher who does everything (fish, fowl, meat) without
washing his hands, clean fish can be contaminated, e.g., with
salmonella and freezing won't help with that.







--
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Ken wrote:

>
> 1) I occasionally eat tuna from my local grocery store (in Seattle). It is
> usually just their standard tuna steak cut, not the "sashimi-grade" Ahi that
> they sometimes carry. The guy behind the counter told me that it's fine to
> eat the non-sashimi grade. Is it?


Unless the guy behind the counter is a professional seafood handler, I wouldn't
take his word for it. How is he qualified to say this?


> 2) I've been eyeing those big farm-raised salmon fillets at Costco and the
> grocery store. Without regard to flavor, would those be safe to eat raw?


I wouldn't. I buy farm-raised salmon fillets from BJ's and although they
smell fresh, I don't know how they were handled prior to purchase.


> 3) Is "freezing to weaken parasites" a good measure to take with salmon?
> I've heard the measure described as a silver bullet for parasites, and I've
> heard others say that it is still risky even if you freeze it. Basically,
> if I buy one of those farm-raised fished, freeze and thaw it, should I be
> okay?

I think you have less to fear from parasites as from bacteria.
Cross contamination is more likely to make you ill from eating
any of the above. Knowing where it came from and how it was
handled is the best way to lower the risk. Your best bet is to
buy from fish mongers who carry "sashimi grade" fish.

--
Dan

"Ken" > wrote in message
news:wTFDc.101544$2i5.48126@attbi_s52...
> I've seen the extensive postings in this group about avoiding the
> consumption of raw wild Pacific salmon due to parasites. I have a few
> questions along those lines:
>
> 1) I occasionally eat tuna from my local grocery store (in Seattle). It is
> usually just their standard tuna steak cut, not the "sashimi-grade" Ahi
that
> they sometimes carry. The guy behind the counter told me that it's fine
to
> eat the non-sashimi grade. Is it?

> 2) I've been eyeing those big farm-raised salmon fillets at Costco and the
> grocery store. Without regard to flavor, would those be safe to eat raw?
>

I have never seen salmon either filet (farned atlantic no doubt) or
sometimes
whole (farmed coho usually) in any condition that ever inspired me to use it
as sashimi/sushi. For that purpose I buy my salmon from my local fish monger
or from the several Japanese food stores in my area.

"Ken" > wrote in message
news:wTFDc.101544$2i5.48126@attbi_s52...

> 1) I occasionally eat tuna from my local grocery store (in Seattle). It is
> usually just their standard tuna steak cut, not the "sashimi-grade" Ahi
that
> they sometimes carry. The guy behind the counter told me that it's fine
to
> eat the non-sashimi grade. Is it?

There is no such thing as "sashimi grade" tuna. There is #1, #2, #2+, fry
grade, etc. And there might be specific grading rules set up between a
vendor and customer.

As long as you are buying bigeye tuna or yellowfin tuna (neither specie is
associated with biological hazards e.g. parasites) and the flesh looks
bright/fresh (no discoloration, no rainbow effect, no odor, flesh appears
moist/not dried out, etc.) you should be just fine. That said, I rarely see
fresh tuna steaks in the fresh meat case that I would personally cut into
and eat raw because they fail in one or more of the above categories.

I wonder what AYCE places use? I'm sure they cannot afford to use
sushi grade stuff if you assume each guy and eat about a pound worth
of fish.