Tapeworm Sushi

Published on Tuesday, June 23, 2009, by James Norton / Edit Post

Your efforts to get parents or grandparents to try sushi just took a nine-feet-long step backward: A soon-to-be giant tapeworm passed from a delicious piece of undercooked fish to a Chicago man’s stomach, sending him to the hospital and setting back domestic sushi acceptance by about 20 years. Here’s the factoid paragraph from the ABC report:

“Although still rare, a study this June showed salmon tapeworm infestations tripled from an average of 0.32 cases per 100,000 people each year in Kyoto, Japan, to at least to 1 case in 100,000 people in 2008.”

Scare journalism? Perhaps. But, with the questions about mercury contamination and sustainability that plague most domestic sushi, maybe this sort of thing isn’t such a bad reality check on the industry as a whole.

Image source: flickr member adactio under Creative Commons

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POST A COMMENT |6 Comments

COMMENT

  • Caralien - I am with you on taking chances + crispy salmon skin, yum. FYI sushi-grade salmon is always frozen and then defrosted - the process kills off the tapeworm larvae. So as long as you are eating raw salmon in reputable sushi restaurants, you should be safe.

  • mrarsen, did you mean to copy and paste someone else's?

    Regarding the article, yes, people can get sick from anything (including oysters served at Shaw's, which has happened to me, but hasn't stopped me from eating raw oysters). Regarding salmon, I detest it cooked but love it raw (aside from the skin, then crispy). I've probably eaten sashimi a few thousand times and consider my risk minimal:

    ...+READ

    mrarsen, did you mean to copy and paste someone else's?

    Regarding the article, yes, people can get sick from anything (including oysters served at Shaw's, which has happened to me, but hasn't stopped me from eating raw oysters). Regarding salmon, I detest it cooked but love it raw (aside from the skin, then crispy). I've probably eaten sashimi a few thousand times and consider my risk minimal:

    (100,000/365) X 18 pieces of sashimi = 15+ years to get sick if I had a fulll platter daily; 1 maki roll = 6 pieces; 45+ years

    I'll take my chances.

    Raw seafood places may need to post a warning:
    "Those with weakened immune systems, as well as the very young, the very old, or those with tendencies to worry, please avoid consuming anything that is raw, unpasturized, or not what you're familiar with."-COLLAPSE

  • Gourmet had an excellent article on this subject last fall by NW salmon authority Jon Rowley, here: http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2008/08/raw-salmon-tapeworm

  • In the USA this is exactly why fish that is going to be served raw is supposed to frozen first under a time/temperature guide line.
    Of course just about any thing can be harmful but it certainly doesn't hurt to be aware.

  • Gourmet had an excellent article on this subject last fall by NW salmon authority Jon Rowley, here: http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2008/08/raw-salmon-tapeworm

  • the incidence of these tapeworm infestations tripled in ONE YEAR? it's still rare, but that is a significant jump.