Which types of salmon can and cannot be eaten raw?
Salmon is a fish that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Some kinds of salmon are safer to eat raw, including farm-raised and smoked varieties.
Your favorite sushi restaurant is likely expensive, and it may be a long drive to the international grocery store that sells sushi-grade raw fish.
Can you eat your own raw salmon — the type you find in your local store — if it’s fresh or frozen? Learn more about when it’s safe to eat raw fish, which types you should buy, and which types you should avoid.
Most people understand that eating raw and undercooked meat can be extremely dangerous to their health. Raw meats can contain bacteria and parasites that cause food poisoning.
Fish meat can be different. Sometimes, it's safe to eat raw fish, but in other situations, you should avoid it. Whether you’re looking for raw salmon for a sushi recipe or you simply like it plain, consider the following information to keep yourself healthy when eating raw fish.
Wild-caught salmon
Salmon labeled “wild-caught” is often considered healthier for various reasons. These fish are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, they're free to grow in a healthy environment, and they can eat a variety of wild plankton, fish, and algae.
Living in the wild comes with a cost, though: parasites. Wild-caught salmon have a higher incidence of infection because they’re at greater risk of eating infected food in the wild (as opposed to a farmed salmon’s man-made, parasite-free diet). It's not a good idea to eat raw, wild-caught salmon unless you know it's been flash-frozen first.
Farm-raised salmon
Farm-raised salmon, especially fish that have been flash frozen, are your best bet for eating raw sushi that you bought at the grocery store. Though fish farms often have a bad reputation in health-food circles, fish raised in captivity aren’t as susceptible to parasitic diseases for three reasons:
- They aren’t seeking their own prey in the wild, which means they probably won’t eat food that’s been infected.
- They are raised in conditions that are designed to keep them healthy and disease-free.
- They are almost always frozen before they're shipped to stores and restaurants.
Smoked salmon
This salty delicacy is used in dishes as wide-ranging as gourmet appetizer plates and grocery store sushi. You can put it in pasta dishes or scramble it with eggs. If you eat it at a party, you probably have not questioned its origin — but if you’ve just brought it home from the store, you might wonder if it’s cooked enough to safely eat.
Smoked salmon isn’t technically raw — but it hasn’t been traditionally cooked, either. Even so, you can safely enjoy smoked salmon if it’s cured with smoke and salt in a traditional smokehouse or a larger food preparation plant.
Homemade smoked salmon might still be raw if the cook doesn’t understand how to smoke meat correctly — and if this is the case, it’s probably not safe to eat.
Does freezing raw salmon make it safe to eat?
If you choose to eat raw salmon, make sure it has been flash-frozen to kill parasites and slow down the growth of bacteria in the meat. Fortunately, this method is popular and readily indicated on its packaging. Flash-freezing is used to prepare countless seafood items that are sold in grocery stores, restaurants, and sushi bars.
This method ensures the safe transport, handling, and cooking of these items. Sushi restaurants are required to use previously flash-frozen sushi to ensure that parasites have been killed. Though freezing isn’t a cure-all, it will make your raw fish safer.
Fish must be frozen for at least seven days and at a minimum freezer temperature of -4 degrees Fahrenheit in order to completely kill parasites. Your home freezer may not be this cold. If you’re unsure of your freezer’s temperature, don’t try to freeze raw fish by yourself to kill parasites.
Additionally, keep in mind that while flash-freezing fish can kill parasites and other microorganisms, it won’t completely eradicate bacteria. Make sure you’re buying salmon from a quality establishment and read the package to determine where it came from before attempting to eat it raw. If you have any doubts, either don’t eat it or cook it thoroughly before consuming.
Dangers of eating unsafe raw salmon
Bacterial food poisoning
When you eat raw salmon, you’re susceptible to bacterial food poisoning like listeriosis. The Listeria monocytogenes bacteria isn’t a common cause of infection, but if you have a weakened immune system or you’re pregnant, it can make you very ill.
It’s most often found in salmon products that have been handled incorrectly or “cold-smoked” at too high of a temperature. If you are part of a high-risk population for foodborne illnesses, stay on the safe side and don’t eat raw salmon. If you’re not, still be very careful to only eat high-quality raw fish from a reputable source.
Anisakiasis
Raw salmon can contain several different types of parasites, including anisakiasis. Anisakiasis is also called “herring worm disease,” and it’s spread when people eat raw fish or squid that have been infected with the larvae of this parasite. The eggs or larval form of the parasites can then live for a while before dying in the person’s gastrointestinal system.
This disease can cause vomiting, fever, bloating, and even a severe allergic reaction. If the parasite is left in the person’s GI system for too long, it might need to be surgically extracted.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms can be an unfortunate consequence of eating raw salmon that wasn’t flash-frozen. It can also occur when you eat a fresh, wild-caught raw salmon that acquired a tapeworm in its native waters. There's no way to tell if a wild-caught fish is tapeworm-free: Depending on where your salmon was caught, it could be completely parasite-free, or it could have lived its entire life in tapeworm-infested waters.
Guidelines for cooking salmon
Perhaps you brought your raw salmon home and, after reading through this guide, you determined that you bought the wrong kind of salmon to safely consume raw. If so, according to the CDC’s guidelines for cooking seafood, you should cook your salmon to a minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit internally (use a meat thermometer if you have one). Your salmon should flake when it’s fully cooked.
If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or immunocompromised, don’t tempt fate with raw salmon bought at the grocery store. Stay on the safe side and avoid raw fish — even sushi from a restaurant. If you’re generally healthy and you follow the guidelines listed above, though, you may be able to safely enjoy raw salmon at home.
Ask your doctor or nutritionist if you have further questions about eating raw fish as a nutritious part of your diet.
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Medically Reviewed on 9/23/2022
References
SOURCES:
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: "Can I eat sushi while I'm pregnant?"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Anisakiasis FAQs," "Listeria (Listeriosis)."
Cleveland Clinic: "Why You Shouldn't Eat Raw or Undercooked Chicken and How To Keep it Fresh."
Emerging Infectious Diseases: "Salmon Aquaculture and Transmission of the Fish Tapeworm."
Oregon State University: "Parasites in Marine Fishes."
The University of Maine: "Maine Seafood Guide – Salmon."
Today's Farmed Fish: "FLASH FROZEN IS THE NEW FRESH."
U.S. Department of Agriculture: "Keeping In-Demand Smoked Salmon Safe to Eat."
Washington State Department of Health: "Farmed Salmon vs. Wild Salmon."
