Are tuna & salmon from Costco or Sams Club safe to eat raw?? (NOT MY PICS)
I know sashimi or sushi grade is not a regulated term. And I also know that you need to cure the fish before eating it. That's about as much as I know.
by EmbarrassedTax8243
42 Comments
MeanDickHead
What I do is vacuum seal tuna and freeze it for a few days and then quickly defrost it under water. Have not gotten sick yet.
misses_marston
I ate raw salmon at costco and grocery outlet perfectly fine 🙂 although the safe way is to freeze it and then defrost and eat
aswat89
Technically you need to reach 0°F or -18°C for 7 or more days to kill off all the parasites, most residential freezers cannot get this cold.
Diapy
You will get conflicting answers depending on who you ask. The main question you’d want to ask yourself is: how much effort do you want to go through to minimize risk? Eating some foods raw or undercooked carries some risk, especially if the person eating is immunocompromised or has other health conditions. The main risks you need to watch out for with raw fish would be bacteria and parasites.
I recommend starting with the FDA guidelines which does make exceptions to tuna and salmon with the right conditions. Sourcing fish that meet those conditions can be done by talking to your local fish monger, though for most people, they usually have easier access to a big chain grocer. It can be difficult to source those fish that meet the FDA’s exemptions and confirm those conditions were upheld throughout the entire supply chain if you’re buying from a big chain grocer.
What I do personally is mostly stick to salmon as it has low food borne illness risk, especially regarding parasites, if the salmon is farmed. I have branched out to other fish using this method but salmon is my go-to.
My method for minimizing risk with eating raw fish would be to source your fish appropriately to start. I find that Costco salmon is a great product. Always seems very clean and the handling of the fish appears professional. Their salmon always seems fresh (not in the sense of never frozen, but that it’s proper temperature control through the process, not leaking, clean packaging, and sells quickly so it’s not sitting on the shelf for days.) The salmon I specifically buy for eating raw is farm raised as it has a much better chance of being parasite free.
After I have purchased the salmon I will pat it dry with clean paper towels and apply a 50/50 salt and sugar cure to both sides for about 30 minutes. You want a liberal coating but no need to overdo it. This both helps improve texture by firming up the flesh, and can have some benefits by mitigating surface bacteria. After the 30 minutes rise the fillet thoroughly to remove the salt and sugar coating and dry well. Next I will portion out the large fillet into individual portions. Lastly I will vacuum seal each portion by itself and throw them into my “sushi freezer.” It’s just a cheap 1.1 cubic feet freezer I got off Amazon for less than $100. It has a nob on the back to adjust temperature and at the coldest setting gets down to about -20 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezing process is to ensure total parasite destruction.
FDA requirements for serving raw fish meant for consumption requires fish to be frozen to at least -4 F for 7 days or -35 F for 24 hours. It would be a challenge to get a home freezer to go to -35 F and even though mine gets to about -20 F, I still do the full 7 days. After that time I take it out of the bag and thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours and it’s good to go.
You will hear conflicting comments saying that the fish was likely already flash frozen on the boat so the home freezing is not needed, or that because the salmon is farm raised it meets the exemption from freezing according to FDA guidelines. You will also hear that refreezing can impact texture, taste and quality. While all this could be true, at the end of the day the way I look at it is that if you’re sourcing your fish from your average grocery store where cost and availability will be easier for most people, it’s difficult to trace each step of the process from fishery to table in todays complex supply chain and ensure that all steps needed to consume the fish raw were taken. That means it’s up to each person to ask themselves the question of how much effort they want to go through to minimize risk based off their own concerns with food borne illness.
Hopes this helps and I’d be happy to answer any clarifying questions!
*EDIT* Obligatory thank you for the award kind stranger! This is actually my first award in my 12+ years on Reddit! Glad to know I was helpful!
IndependenceAlive731
When they catch the tuna and bring it to land to process first thing they do is flash freeze so yes the fish is good
IndependenceAlive731
What i usually do for salmon is put a thick layer of salt on top let it sit for 10 min then wash it off with sake and wrap it up with plastic put it in the fridge for day then dammmnnn it’s so fucking good
bigwillyboi69
Yes my family and I often (once a month) buy a Costco salmon and we make tartare out of it never gotten sick from it for years.
stonedfem
i have used costco salmon as sashimi before, it was yummy and i didn’t get food poisoning. make sure to buy farm raised, not wild caught; wild caught fish has a much higher chance of containing parasites compared to farm raised.
Lucky_Programmer9556
I have been eating the salmon raw. I buy the wild caught or farmed frozen bags. I feel great and no problems.
TrashiestTrash
I can’t give any professional level opinion, but I have often eaten Sam’s club Tuna and Salmon raw without issue.
Human_Resources_7891
try r/seafood
AnimatorMean3854
Yes
No_Public_7677
There is a risk of cross contamination when these fillets are being packaged. Can’t tell you how high the risk is though.
emmgemm11
Tuna is chill. I saw a sushi chef make salmon nigiri from Costco fish. He cured the fish first!
pastelxbones
tuna is also really good cooked rare or medium rare if you’re scared of getting sick
commanderation
The amount of worms I see in costco salmon will never make me want to eat it raw. Never seen it in my sushi but I have in the costco salmon every time
Curious_Problem1631
The roll for sushi guy on tiktok uses frozen farm raised salmon for his sashimi and nigiri. You just have to make sure it’s been frozen for 7 days
okaycomputes
I would eat that tuna 100% but I have eaten much worse
DSmith19911
I have eaten the Costco farmed salmon raw as sashimi after a salt/sugar cure for years and have never had any issues. It’s delicious and very affordable can’t recommend it enough!
Atlanon88
You can make that salmon sushi quality for sure, not hard either. Quick YouTube video and a trip to the store. I wouldn’t bother with the tuna, the type of tuna and cuts you want for sushi are rarely sold in steaks like that. If at all.
SuperSoupDumpling
Yes, they are. The restaurant I worked at uses these for their rolls/nigiris. So far we’ve comebacks for more.
redditpants
I use Costco ahi for sushi and poke all the time. It’s been great every time.
Conscious-Permit-466
Probably imported with chemicals
smodanc
Farm raised salmon and tuna are. I’ve used both just freeze for a week to be safe before consuming. Recommend the tuna because you don’t have to remove the skin/scales and the flavor is less fishy. Slice into strips and pat with salt on both sides then leave to sit for maybe 5-10 mins. Rinse off and dry then it’s ready to cut/consume.
Conscious-Permit-466
Be sure that your health and life insurance are paid up.
XandersOdyssey
All you have to do is watch the sushi guy on YouTube and tik tok
Dafuxor
Idk I’m skeptical of anything “wild caught.” I never paid attention to wild or farmed until…. we got a slab of salmon, seasoned it. Then all of a sudden a bunch of worms started squirming out.
Absolutely ruined salmon for the GF I had at the time
I called the grocery store just to let them know, hey the salmon ummm has worms. They said “well, its wild caught, we cant control how many critters it might have”
UnicornSgtLeader
I eat Costco farmed Atlantic salmon as sushi and sashimi all the time. It’s better when you cure with salt or sugar first but if I’m too lazy to do that and it’s not a super heavy package I’ll just wash it off, pat it down with paper towels, and just start cutting it up and eating it like that and it’s still delicious and never got sick from it.
Nihilistblues1
The Farmed Salmon from Norway is fine to eat, I do it all the time. And most Tuna is alright too. Just eat it within a day or two. Try grabbing one that’s still a little frozen if possible.
TimmO208
I would imagine the poke they (Costco) make is with the same ahi they sell.
MyOtherCarIsAHippo
Sushi grade salmon needs to be frozen for 7 days or Flash frozen at -35F for 15 hours. Salmon live in the ocean but spawn in fresh water which allows certain parasites to live in them that things like tuna don’t as they live too far from fresh water for these parasites to live in their bodies.
Cook salmon unless you do this, but tuna is generally ok but depending on its handling and freshness, cross contaminates can occur so searing is best practice.
mintchan
Need to be sushi grade fish. It is processed differently.
Eating farm salmon raw is okay. Eating wild salmon raw is only safe after freezing to kill parasites. It seems that the Japanese have had difficulty using fresh ( non frozen) Hokkaido chum salmon for sushi that has led to intestinal worms. I have never heard of similar dangers with fresh (non frozen) yellowfin (ahi) tuna. I was in the fish business for 35 years before retirement.
seungflower
I find their sockeye to be freezer burned and a bit too fishy. But their farmed salmon I heard is all right. I wouldn’t eat it raw tho.
troublesbeaver
Freeze it first
Escapethephysical
Really I’d try to find a fresher fish market. But idk your area I’m near the coast so it’s not too far to fresh fish for me. I love nigiri 🤤
SushiJo
I don’t think anyone believes that Costco is flying in fish, so my assumption is that they get tuna loins in frozen. They thaw them, then cut them into steaks. They also leave the tail pieces whole and sell them as one big piece because if they sliced those, no one would buy them as they’re full of muscle and connective tissue and are much tougher than the other end of the loin. I 100% eat that raw, but everyone has to make their own decisions. Same goes for their salmon.
th3thrilld3m0n
Farmed salmon is ok, wild tuna (certain kinds) are ok.
Maka_Oceania
I’ve eaten them both raw and imo they taste good. I make poke tho so I can’t speak to like a sashimi quality
42 Comments
What I do is vacuum seal tuna and freeze it for a few days and then quickly defrost it under water. Have not gotten sick yet.
I ate raw salmon at costco and grocery outlet perfectly fine 🙂 although the safe way is to freeze it and then defrost and eat
Technically you need to reach 0°F or -18°C for 7 or more days to kill off all the parasites, most residential freezers cannot get this cold.
You will get conflicting answers depending on who you ask. The main question you’d want to ask yourself is: how much effort do you want to go through to minimize risk? Eating some foods raw or undercooked carries some risk, especially if the person eating is immunocompromised or has other health conditions. The main risks you need to watch out for with raw fish would be bacteria and parasites.
I recommend starting with the FDA guidelines which does make exceptions to tuna and salmon with the right conditions. Sourcing fish that meet those conditions can be done by talking to your local fish monger, though for most people, they usually have easier access to a big chain grocer. It can be difficult to source those fish that meet the FDA’s exemptions and confirm those conditions were upheld throughout the entire supply chain if you’re buying from a big chain grocer.
What I do personally is mostly stick to salmon as it has low food borne illness risk, especially regarding parasites, if the salmon is farmed. I have branched out to other fish using this method but salmon is my go-to.
My method for minimizing risk with eating raw fish would be to source your fish appropriately to start. I find that Costco salmon is a great product. Always seems very clean and the handling of the fish appears professional. Their salmon always seems fresh (not in the sense of never frozen, but that it’s proper temperature control through the process, not leaking, clean packaging, and sells quickly so it’s not sitting on the shelf for days.) The salmon I specifically buy for eating raw is farm raised as it has a much better chance of being parasite free.
After I have purchased the salmon I will pat it dry with clean paper towels and apply a 50/50 salt and sugar cure to both sides for about 30 minutes. You want a liberal coating but no need to overdo it. This both helps improve texture by firming up the flesh, and can have some benefits by mitigating surface bacteria. After the 30 minutes rise the fillet thoroughly to remove the salt and sugar coating and dry well. Next I will portion out the large fillet into individual portions. Lastly I will vacuum seal each portion by itself and throw them into my “sushi freezer.” It’s just a cheap 1.1 cubic feet freezer I got off Amazon for less than $100. It has a nob on the back to adjust temperature and at the coldest setting gets down to about -20 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezing process is to ensure total parasite destruction.
FDA requirements for serving raw fish meant for consumption requires fish to be frozen to at least -4 F for 7 days or -35 F for 24 hours. It would be a challenge to get a home freezer to go to -35 F and even though mine gets to about -20 F, I still do the full 7 days. After that time I take it out of the bag and thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours and it’s good to go.
You will hear conflicting comments saying that the fish was likely already flash frozen on the boat so the home freezing is not needed, or that because the salmon is farm raised it meets the exemption from freezing according to FDA guidelines. You will also hear that refreezing can impact texture, taste and quality. While all this could be true, at the end of the day the way I look at it is that if you’re sourcing your fish from your average grocery store where cost and availability will be easier for most people, it’s difficult to trace each step of the process from fishery to table in todays complex supply chain and ensure that all steps needed to consume the fish raw were taken. That means it’s up to each person to ask themselves the question of how much effort they want to go through to minimize risk based off their own concerns with food borne illness.
Hopes this helps and I’d be happy to answer any clarifying questions!
*EDIT* Obligatory thank you for the award kind stranger! This is actually my first award in my 12+ years on Reddit! Glad to know I was helpful!
When they catch the tuna and bring it to land to process first thing they do is flash freeze so yes the fish is good
What i usually do for salmon is put a thick layer of salt on top let it sit for 10 min then wash it off with sake and wrap it up with plastic put it in the fridge for day then dammmnnn it’s so fucking good
Yes my family and I often (once a month) buy a Costco salmon and we make tartare out of it never gotten sick from it for years.
i have used costco salmon as sashimi before, it was yummy and i didn’t get food poisoning. make sure to buy farm raised, not wild caught; wild caught fish has a much higher chance of containing parasites compared to farm raised.
I have been eating the salmon raw. I buy the wild caught or farmed frozen bags. I feel great and no problems.
I can’t give any professional level opinion, but I have often eaten Sam’s club Tuna and Salmon raw without issue.
try r/seafood
Yes
There is a risk of cross contamination when these fillets are being packaged. Can’t tell you how high the risk is though.
Tuna is chill. I saw a sushi chef make salmon nigiri from Costco fish. He cured the fish first!
tuna is also really good cooked rare or medium rare if you’re scared of getting sick
The amount of worms I see in costco salmon will never make me want to eat it raw. Never seen it in my sushi but I have in the costco salmon every time
The roll for sushi guy on tiktok uses frozen farm raised salmon for his sashimi and nigiri. You just have to make sure it’s been frozen for 7 days
I would eat that tuna 100% but I have eaten much worse
I have eaten the Costco farmed salmon raw as sashimi after a salt/sugar cure for years and have never had any issues. It’s delicious and very affordable can’t recommend it enough!
You can make that salmon sushi quality for sure, not hard either. Quick YouTube video and a trip to the store. I wouldn’t bother with the tuna, the type of tuna and cuts you want for sushi are rarely sold in steaks like that. If at all.
Yes, they are. The restaurant I worked at uses these for their rolls/nigiris. So far we’ve comebacks for more.
I use Costco ahi for sushi and poke all the time. It’s been great every time.
Probably imported with chemicals
Farm raised salmon and tuna are. I’ve used both just freeze for a week to be safe before consuming. Recommend the tuna because you don’t have to remove the skin/scales and the flavor is less fishy. Slice into strips and pat with salt on both sides then leave to sit for maybe 5-10 mins. Rinse off and dry then it’s ready to cut/consume.
Be sure that your health and life insurance are paid up.
All you have to do is watch the sushi guy on YouTube and tik tok
Idk I’m skeptical of anything “wild caught.” I never paid attention to wild or farmed until…. we got a slab of salmon, seasoned it. Then all of a sudden a bunch of worms started squirming out.
Absolutely ruined salmon for the GF I had at the time
I called the grocery store just to let them know, hey the salmon ummm has worms. They said “well, its wild caught, we cant control how many critters it might have”
I eat Costco farmed Atlantic salmon as sushi and sashimi all the time. It’s better when you cure with salt or sugar first but if I’m too lazy to do that and it’s not a super heavy package I’ll just wash it off, pat it down with paper towels, and just start cutting it up and eating it like that and it’s still delicious and never got sick from it.
The Farmed Salmon from Norway is fine to eat, I do it all the time. And most Tuna is alright too. Just eat it within a day or two. Try grabbing one that’s still a little frozen if possible.
I would imagine the poke they (Costco) make is with the same ahi they sell.
Sushi grade salmon needs to be frozen for 7 days or Flash frozen at -35F for 15 hours. Salmon live in the ocean but spawn in fresh water which allows certain parasites to live in them that things like tuna don’t as they live too far from fresh water for these parasites to live in their bodies.
Cook salmon unless you do this, but tuna is generally ok but depending on its handling and freshness, cross contaminates can occur so searing is best practice.
Need to be sushi grade fish. It is processed differently.
Your local health authority will have guildlines on how fish needs to be prepared if is to be eaten raw. Here are the guidelines from my area. [https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/wf/eph/wf-eh-guidelines-for-sushi-prep.pdf](https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/wf/eph/wf-eh-guidelines-for-sushi-prep.pdf)
Eating farm salmon raw is okay. Eating wild salmon raw is only safe after freezing to kill parasites. It seems that the Japanese have had difficulty using fresh ( non frozen) Hokkaido chum salmon for sushi that has led to intestinal worms. I have never heard of similar dangers with fresh (non frozen) yellowfin (ahi) tuna. I was in the fish business for 35 years before retirement.
I find their sockeye to be freezer burned and a bit too fishy. But their farmed salmon I heard is all right. I wouldn’t eat it raw tho.
Freeze it first
Really I’d try to find a fresher fish market. But idk your area I’m near the coast so it’s not too far to fresh fish for me. I love nigiri 🤤
I don’t think anyone believes that Costco is flying in fish, so my assumption is that they get tuna loins in frozen. They thaw them, then cut them into steaks. They also leave the tail pieces whole and sell them as one big piece because if they sliced those, no one would buy them as they’re full of muscle and connective tissue and are much tougher than the other end of the loin. I 100% eat that raw, but everyone has to make their own decisions. Same goes for their salmon.
Farmed salmon is ok, wild tuna (certain kinds) are ok.
I’ve eaten them both raw and imo they taste good. I make poke tho so I can’t speak to like a sashimi quality
I wouldn’t feed farmed fish to my dog
Believe if it was frozen, it could/should be..