Many Chaoshan people say that raw pickling is the kind of "chronic poison" that is only eaten zero times and countless times.
What could be happier than a raw pickle after ice creaming in the hot summer? The sand shrimp is sweet and fat, the blood clams are crisp and tender, the green cream crab is tender and delicious, and there is a little smoothie when it is introduced... Even for diners who have no feeling for sashimi, it is difficult not to be moved by raw pickling.
However, no matter how delicious the raw pickle, it also has to face a big problem - parasites.
Food writer Cai Lan once encountered: "Hong Kong's rotary sushi restaurant bought [bonito] so cut to use as sashimi... As soon as it came, the abdominal wall was covered with small yellow tumors, and the bread was full of larvae. ”
Whether it's raw pickles, raw fish, or imported fresh sashimi in Chaoshan Province, these raw aquatic products have one similarity: you may never know if there is a "wormhole" hidden in the plate in front of you.
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Take a bite of fresh sashimi and eat a few parasites
"Freshly slaughtered sashimi, absolutely fresh, absolutely assured."
If you see a restaurant with such a slogan, don't enter! Fresh sashimi, which has not been treated in any way, is likely to be the "home" of the parasite.
Fish are infected with a wide variety of parasites, however, only a few can cause people to get sick.
"Chinese mycodylistheasis", also known as "liver flukes", is one of the most common pathogenic parasites in freshwater fish in China. When sashimi infected with liver flukes is consumed, the worm body mainly parasitizes the bile ducts and gallbladder of the human body, causing a series of lesions of the biliary tract, such as cholangitis, cholecystitis, and gallstones [1].
A patient who was infected with lung trema after eating sashimi. The arrows in the radiograph refer to lesions caused by lung trematodes
Adults of Chondromystis sinensis can parasitize in the bile ducts for up to 20 to 25 years [2]. When there are too many worms, the dead worm body, eggs and mucin block the bile ducts for a long time, and can also cause biliary cirrhosis and bacterial infections[1][2].
Studies have shown that the risk of cholangiocarcinoma in people infected with Trebudchia sinensis is 4.5 to 6.1 times that of non-infected patients [3].
Therefore, the fresh aquatic products you eat raw may also be the well-known cholangiocarcine class I carcinogen [4].
The parasite's distribution in freshwater fish may be beyond your imagination. It is found in 139 species of freshwater fish in China, Japan and South Korea. Even common domestic fish species, such as carp, silver carp, clear carp (grass carp), crucian carp, etc., cannot be avoided.[1]
In 2010, sampling results from 35 fish ponds across Guangdong showed that nearly 70% of all the fish ponds sampled were infected with Chinese mycodylistas. Shunde people's favorite fish (also known as grass carp) is 47.31% of the detection rate of Huakyrch testosteria.[5]
Crystal white and tender, rich ingredients of Shunde fish raw. Fish in this area are often used for grass carp / figure worm creativity
According to this detection rate, for every two untreated grass carp sashimi, you may have a face-to-face with liver flukes.
In provinces and cities where there is a habit of eating sashimi, the infection rate of Chinese testicular flukes is very high.
In 2015, the current situation of infection of key parasitic diseases in 35 provinces across the country was investigated, and the infection rate in liangguang area was significantly higher than that of other provinces. The rate of Trematodes infection was 6.68% in Guangxi and 1.91% in Guangdong[6].
What is this concept?
According to a rough estimate of the number of permanent residents in the two provinces at that time, the scale of mycodchis in Liangguanghua was about 5.276 million [6-8].
Some people will say, "Freshwater fish have many parasites and are not suitable for raw food." In contrast, marine fish are safer than freshwater fish. There are fewer parasites in marine fish, and because of the osmotic pressure and the high salt environment of seawater, the parasites cannot survive in humans. ”
That's only half true.
Some raw picklings perfectly combine the two risk factors of "raw food + freshwater aquatic products", which can be said to be the "most beautiful and dangerous" / figureworm creativity
Marine fish are indeed safer than freshwater fish, and marine fish do have fewer parasitic species (emphasis, species) than freshwater fish overall. However, the infection rate of parasites in freshwater and marine fish is similar [9].
Some marine fish parasites are also pathogenic.
For example, one of the most common parasites in seafood sashimi, the isaacous nematode, the human body really does not provide the most suitable living environment.
The heterocephalus that eat in the stomach are mostly larvae, which do not grow, but do not die. They eat and drink Lasa inside you, and sometimes travel in droves, medically referring to them as "visceral larval migration." After they die, the bodies are buried in the stomach wall to form buds and sometimes cause severe allergic reactions [10].
Eating this parasite can cause severe abdominal pain and vomiting in severe cases. There is no specific drug for the allobelis that swims into the gastrointestinal tract, and once infected, it can only be cast by gastroscopy [11].
Doing a gastroscope is already sour enough, not to mention the need for the doctor to reach in and clip out the parasite / figure worm idea
Just thinking about it, the stomach is already hurting.
This parasite is also very widely distributed in marine fish.
A survey specifically targeting the infestation of isotid nematodes in fish in zhoushan fisheries in Zhejiang Province showed that 29 species of 444 marine fish and 218 were detected as larvae of xenohadistas. The overall infection rate of marine fish is 49.1 percent [12].
One of the 38 cm long mackerel carried 114 xenocephalus larvae.
So, eating freshly slaughtered, untreated sashimi or marinated raw seafood, you're likely to have a chance to taste the same fresh, original parasites, isn't that exciting?
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How to eat raw fish to minimize the risk
So the question is, is there a solution to the problem of the safety of raw fish?
Take Japan, for example. Japan, which loves sashimi and sushi, has also been plagued by parasitic diseases in the past. But because of this, Japan has accumulated a lot of experience in eating sashimi. Over the years, the scale of parasitic infections in Japan has become less severe.
The saying that "dipping vinegar and dipping mustard can kill parasites" circulating on the Internet is not reliable, and there will be some risks in choosing raw food / Figureworm ideas
In 2020, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there were 386 cases of foodborne diseases caused by parasites in Japan, and 484 patients. Among them, the most common occurrence of isalamic nematodes from raw seafood is only 396 people [13].
After fresh fish are caught and slaughtered, after certain treatment, many parasite risks can be avoided.
First of all, different origins and different species of sashimi fish carry different types and quantities of parasites. Freshwater fish and some marine fish species with high infection rates can be largely excluded.
For example, the "salmon sashimi" that is more common in authentic Japanese food stores is mostly artificially farmed Atlantic salmon imported from Norway.
The culture conditions for this Atlantic salmon are extremely strict. Parent spawning and fry rearing are carried out in a farming workshop on land, and then transferred to the sea by live fish vessels for culture using deep-water cages. Each batch of fish eggs has a complete production record, and the water taken from the culture is disinfected and sterilized and then flowed into the culture pond, and the feed is fed with heat treatment without parasites .[14]
Salmon Farm / Figureworm Creative
The Norwegian Atlantic salmon, which is strictly selected in this way, has a very low risk of contracting the parasite directly from raw food.
A large-scale sampling of 37 salmon farms in Norway found that no parasites were found in any of the 3525 farmed Atlantic salmon. Only two heterocephalic worms and several adult parasites that do not pose harm to humans have been found in the stomachs of three immature Atlantic salmon [15].
Fish species, origin, and breeding methods are reliable, and the probability of eating parasites will be much lower.
But that's not enough. To reduce the risk of contracting parasites by eating sashimi, the FDA provides a necessary route - freezing that meets certain conditions.
Solution 1: Freeze and store at -20 °C and below for 7 days;
Scheme 2: Freeze and store for 15 hours at -35 °C and below ambient temperature;
Scheme 3: Freeze at -35 °C and below and store at -20 °C and below for 24 hours;
The above 3 schemes may not be suitable for freezing particularly large fish (e.g., thickness greater than 6 inches)
Frozen salmon meat / figure worm ideas
Regarding the insecticidal effects of freezing, the FDA food safety regulations call it "sufficient to kill parasites".
China's sashimi also has standards to follow.
In the "National Standard for Food Safety" document animal aquatic products issued in 2015, it is clearly stipulated that "ready-to-eat raw food animal aquatic products" need to be achieved to "not detect parasites such as flucoccus cysts, nematode larvae and taenia schizocephalus".[17]
Generally speaking, regular production enterprises will implement this standard, and the products will be listed first and then subject to sampling inspection. Not only that, pathogenic bacteria and heavy metals are within the detection range, and all aspects of catering circulation are also facing supervision and spot checks and risk monitoring, so as to reduce food safety risks as much as possible.
Most of the tested seafood purchased through formal channels is safe.
The Chef of the Japanese Food Shop is making sashimi / Figureworm ideas
Of course, the "formal channels" must at least have fixed stalls and business licenses, and mobile vendors are the fish that have slipped through the net for sampling.
Through a series of strict controls such as breeding, breeding, cold chain transportation, storage environment, sampling inspection, etc., 99 points of safe sashimi does exist.
As for the remaining 1 point, it depends on experience and luck.
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To be 100% safe, advise you not to eat
For consumers, no one can guarantee that the 1% probability of "winning the lottery" will not fall on their heads. The whole process of making sashimi is a black box, and there are too many uncontrollable factors.
For example, the most critical step in killing parasites is freezing. Once the temperature conditions and required length of time are not met, the risk of contracting the parasite is not low.
In 2019, a paper published in the journal Parasitology Research found that the larvae of the herring in the herring were not completely dead without freezing as required by the FDA and the European Union. After freezing for 24 h, the sample is removed and viewed under a microscope, and the larvae can be seen active [18].
Fish used to eat sashimi cannot be sold directly in this way. First, the internal organs should be dissected and removed immediately. Otherwise, the parasite will swim from its stomach pocket, intestines, liver, body cavity and reproductive glands throughout the body, and the second is that it should reach the FDA-mandated storage temperature / Figureworm creative
In raw pickling shops, Japanese food stores, and fish shops, consumers have no way of getting it. On the e-commerce platform, there are many merchants who pack and distribute immediately after slaughter, the delivery temperature is -4 ° C, and the recommended storage temperature is -18 ° C.
In addition to freezing, there may also be problems with the fish fingerlings served by restaurants.
"Salmon sashimi", which uses rainbow trout as a raw material, was once popular in Chinese restaurants. But the risk of this "salmon sashimi" parasite infection is very high.
Rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon, both trade names called "salmon", are not actually a thing at all. The former is a freshwater fish, which is exposed to many types of parasites, but the breeding method and pest control may not meet the standard of "raw salmon". It is only because the color and texture of the flesh resemble that of Atlantic salmon that some sellers claim to be selling "freshwater salmon" at a price that is not cheap.
Rainbow trout are freshwater fish with a high risk of parasitic infection / Figureworm Creative
For the less knowledgeable average consumer, buying expensive ones is indeed less risky than cheap. But you're afraid, you bought rainbow trout for the price of Atlantic salmon.
In 2018, a surging investigative news piece dug deep into the domestic "salmon" market. The more than 9,000 tons of "salmon" that China consumes each year do not come from the distant deep sea, but from a reservoir in the Yellow River. Of China's annual production of 40,000 tonnes of rainbow trout, less than one-third of the rainbow trout meet qualified raw food standards.[19]
Taking a step back, there are no parasites in the seafood you eat, but there are too many uncontrollable risks of raw food.
Contamination may occur during handling, processing or preparation. Is it stored and transported at the right temperature? Is there any cross-contamination caused by contact with contaminated other seafood or seawater? Does it carry hepatitis A virus, Salmonella, and Vibrio vulnificus[10]?
In fact, bacterial and viral infections are far more severe and common than parasitic infections in the annual food poisoning incident in Japan [13].
The way to stay away from all the above dangers and achieve 100% safety is actually very simple, heating.
Isn't the fathead fish stewed in an iron pot / Figureworm creative
Sprinkle some pepper and sea salt, or drip a few drops of soy sauce, whether it is fried or steamed, is it not fragrant? Even in Chaoshan Province, you can choose such a "safe" specialty as salted plum steamed fish.
Of course, if you really can't resist the delicious taste of all kinds of raw aquatic products, even if there is a risk, you are willing to go out and try, then keep these points in mind before eating:
- Do not eat offal, do not eat freshwater sashimi and snails (even if frozen, probably contain liver flukes), and do not eat freshly slaughtered, unfree sashimi.
- When eating sashimi, keep your eyes wide open and check for any parasites that are visible to the naked eye; If so, put it down immediately and don't eat it again. Even if the adults are removed, they may still contain larvae and cysticers.
- It is very important to eat sashimi in a well-qualified, well-equipped and trustworthy restaurant! Keep an eye on sashimi that sells very low, sells poorly, and has a peculiar smell, and don't try it easily.
- If you are shopping for sashimi online, choose SF Air Freight as much as possible to prevent spoilage. Do not eat immediately after receiving the goods, first freeze according to the FDA's freezing requirements.
- If you are a heavy lover of sashimi and eat sashimi frequently every month, then remember to check the hospital regularly for parasitic infections.
Finally, if you're susceptible (the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems), it's highly recommended not to take the risk.