Fish – Is fresh cod with worms safe to eat

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I have recently noticed a rather large amount of small worms in the fresh cod I am buying. I have tried to take them out as much as I can and of course have spoken to my fish supplier about them, but he assures me they are harmless. However, I don't believe my customers would be as assured. Is it okay to serve this fish, taking into account I might miss a worm or two?

Best Answer

Live parasitic worms are to be expected in raw fresh fish, and need to be dealt with in one of three ways:

  • Cooking: If the fish is thoroughly cooked, the worms will be dead and safe to eat.
  • Removal/avoidance: A skilled sashimi chef has an eye for parasites, and will either discard contaminated pieces, or remove the parasites.
  • Freezing: So called "sushi grade" fish is fish that has been frozen at a temperature/duration recommended by the US FDA. That's 7 days at -20°C, or colder for shorter treatments. Note that this is much colder than domestic freezers. It is said to provide a "parasite destruction guarantee".

There may be other ways to neutralise parasites, such as Eskimo-style fermented fish - but these are unlikely to be of use to you.

There is a difference between safety and palatability, though, and your customers might reasonably expect to be served fish without visible parasites.

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