Can fresh-chilled salmon be eaten raw? Food safety precautions for eating it raw

Salmon is a frequent guest on the dinner table, because it is rich in protein and various nutrients, and in daily life we also advocate eating more fish, but some people wonder whether fresh-chilled salmon can really be eaten raw, so in response to such questions, let us analyze and introduce below whether fresh-chilled salmon can be eaten raw.

Can fresh-chilled salmon be eaten raw?

There is no absolute answer. If the fresh fish is immediately quick-frozen, and every stage is cold-chain transported at least below -18 degrees, and it reaches your dinner table within 72 hours, then it can be eaten raw. Cold-chain transport at only -18 degrees simply cannot be guaranteed in China; perhaps refrigerated trucks will be used for transport along the way, in which case bacteria will certainly multiply. As for 72 hours, that is even more out of the question.

Though they are likewise called salmon and look more or less the same, the prices differ greatly. The expensive ones cost nearly 200 yuan per 500 grams, while the cheap ones cost only a little over 30 yuan per 500 grams.

This kind of salmon must never be eaten raw

Professionals explain that the place of origin and the environment of the waters where it grows are the biggest factors affecting the quality and price of salmon. In fact, most consumers have a misunderstanding about “salmon”. According to Lou Yongjiang, a professor at the School of Marine Sciences of Ningbo University, salmon is not the specific name of a certain kind of fish, but rather a commercial name for a category of fish.

It is understood that salmon is a transliterated English name; in English it is salmon. Generally speaking, there are two ways to understand salmon, in the narrow sense and in the broad sense. In the narrow sense, salmon refers to the Atlantic salmon produced in Norway, Denmark, Scotland, Chile and other places. In common terms, this is the “authentic” salmon.

Atlantic salmon

But in the broad sense, salmon includes many salmonid fish; besides Atlantic salmon, it also includes Pacific salmon, chum salmon, red-fleshed rainbow trout and other salmon and trout species. Once these broad-sense salmon are sliced, their flesh looks somewhat similar to that of Atlantic salmon. Although they are all called salmon, in terms of genus and species they are actually not the same kind of fish at all.