As we strive to eat a healthy diet, often we try to eat more fish. Salmon is a delicious rich source of omega-3 fatty acids that certainly can help maintain cardiovascular health. But there is an unexpected catch… if don’t cook your fish properly, or if you eat raw fish in sushi, you run the risk of ingesting parasitic worms.
Even lightly salted, pickled, or smoked salmon may be contaminated. Japanese tapeworms and roundworms have been found in Pacific Salmon and other fish. The Center for Disease Control advises not to eat raw or undercooked fish. Cook fish until the center internal temperature is at least 145°F. If you buy canned wild Alaskan Salmon at the grocery, it has been pre-cooked.
If you are served salmon in a restaurant and it appears raw in the center send it back. If you insist on taking a chance and eating sushi, make sure that the restaurant is reputable and that the fish has been frozen to -31°F for at least 15 hours.
Reference
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/diphyllobothrium/faqs.html
