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As with almost all Vice articles, this is heavy on the ick factor, light on useful information. This "journalist"'s only source was someone who literally just s
by peterwwillis 9y ago
As with almost all Vice articles, this is heavy on the ick factor, light on useful information. This "journalist"'s only source was someone who literally just sold infected fish.
Most parasites in fish can't adapt to humans, most can be safely digested, and commercially frozen fish will only have dead ones. So sushi or cooked dishes made from commercially frozen fish is basically fine. Worst case: a dead animal is in your food, which is already a dead animal. Less than 40 cases of humans infected with fish parasites are found in the USA each year. Wild freshwater and semi-freshwater (like Salmon) are the most likely infected fish.
If you find wriggly worms in your take-out, you can actually remove the worms (yes, even if they are alive) and then cook the fish to an internal temperature of 145F for 15 seconds, and everything (larva + remaining worms) will be either dead or safe enough to eat. However, if this is takeout, and the worms are alive, you probably already ate live worms/parasites.
It's funny that Vice didn't even include the really gross parts. Some people report feeling a tingling sensation when they eat raw or undercooked fish. This is the worms moving around. Often you can remove the worms from your mouth or esophagus, or vomit, to prevent infection.
- bestnameever 9y agoThe ick factor is really turning me off of fish and I love fish. It might be safe but something about worms and parasites gives me the creeps. On top of that, it seems that many times the fish you order might not be the fish you receive. For someone that cares, I'm starting to find it confusing to keep up with what fish I want to avoid, and whether I should seek fresh or farmed, frozen, etc... http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/04/27/testing-shows-many-bay-area-restaurants-mislabeling-fish/ http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/04/27/testing-shows-ma...
- peterwwillis 9y agoRefer to the Monterey Bay Aqauarium's Consumer Guides for the most ecologically responsible choices of fish. From those, cross reference with a list of "healthy fish" such as https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/healthy-fish https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/healthy-fish . As for "honest labeling", I just don't pay lots of money for fish. Culinary skill is more likely to make it taste great than exotic variety. I think you really shouldn't consider it so much, though. A lot of work is put into minimizing how "unsightly" our food is and it results in a lot of waste. Fruit and veggies have more parasites than fish, for example, and consumer-facing fish gets a lot of prep work before you ever get to see it.