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Whenever I talk about delicious Japanese food, my friends always remember salmon fillets:
"The orange-red thick cut salmon fillets have a faint hint of oiliness, and the fat texture is clearly visible. Sandwiched with a slice of sweet soy sauce and spicy mustard, the entrance is tender and smooth, and the aroma of grease in the mouth is overflowing..."
Before he could finish speaking, the friend next to him swallowed and said that he would definitely take me to eat Japanese food tonight. The Japanese food shop downstairs has enough salmon fillets, and the average person is less than 35 yuan.
So cheap, is it really salmon to eat?
◎ Fresh salmon
PART.01
Tanuki for prince,
Rainbow trout "transforms" into salmon
Strictly speaking, salmon is a trade name, not an academic name. In Chinese context, salmon refers to Atlantic salmon. According to the different origins, it can be divided into Norwegian salmon, Scottish salmon, Australian salmon, etc., and the most common in the domestic market is Norwegian salmon.
At present, there are many unscrupulous merchants on the market who sell rainbow trout as salmon, and even call it "freshwater salmon". In fact, rainbow trout is not a salmon.
◎ Rainbow trout
Atlantic salmon belong to the salmon family, which lives in the sea all year round and migrates from the estuary to fresh water each year to spawn. Rainbow trout, on the other hand, belongs to the salmonid genus, lives entirely in freshwater and has no migratory behavior. Atlantic salmon are deep-sea fish, while rainbow trout are freshwater fish. [1]
Eating freshwater fish raw (such as rainbow trout) is at higher risk of contracting parasites than deep-sea fish. Why is this happening? Fellow foodies, let me find out.
1 The parasite is more severe in freshwater fish
Rainbow trout are freshwater fish and Atlantic salmon are deep-sea fish. The parasites in freshwater fish are more serious, and may carry broad-sectioned taenia, lung flukes, Chinese mycodychiasis (liver flukes), jaw-mouth nematodes, etc., while there are relatively few parasites in deep-sea fish, and the main parasites are is iscanostia and taenia.
◎ Liver flukes
Eating freshwater fish raw, the greatest risk of parasites is Floral testicles (liver flukes). The parasite often hosts freshwater fish, and the human body is infected by eating raw fish flesh. The people of Liangguang, who love to eat raw fish, have a high rate of infection with liver flukes. Guangdong was as high as 16.42%, followed by Guangxi with 9.76%. [2] The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), also lists liver flukes (infections) as one of the class of carcinogens.
Liver flukes can hatch into adults in the human body, parasitize the liver and cause infection and fibrosis, and can also lead to cholangiocarcinoma. [3]
Cholangiocarcinoma is a malignant tumor that occurs in the bile duct system, and the 5-year survival rate is only 9% to 27%. [4]
In addition, the living environment of the parasites of freshwater fish is similar to that of humans and is more likely to survive in the human body, while the living environment of deep-sea fish parasites is quite different from the human environment, and it is not easy to survive in the human body for a long time. [5]
Therefore, raw freshwater fish are at greater risk of contracting parasites than deep-sea fish.
2 Differences in treatment processes between deep-sea fish and freshwater fish
Atlantic salmon (salmon) imported by formal means will be treated with low temperature and frozen in accordance with the regulations, and the parasites will freeze to death, and raw food is relatively safe. For example, the FDA's Handbook on Risk Prevention and Control of Fish and Fresh Products stipulates that raw fish should be frozen and stored below -20 °C for more than 7 days, or frozen below -35 °C until it is completely hardened and stored for more than 15 hours.
Most freshwater fish (such as rainbow trout) tend not to be treated with low temperature freeze, and the risk of parasites is greater. Many merchants also advertise "wild and natural", "kill and eat now, one step to the stomach", which invisibly increases the risk of infection with parasites.
In view of the fact that raw rainbow trout is easy to be targeted by parasites, the US FDA stipulates that rainbow trout product packaging must not be marked with "salmon" in market transactions, so as not to mislead. [6]
However, there was a time in the country that the opposite was done, preparing to classify rainbow trout as salmon. In 2018, the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association published the "Raw Salmon" group standard on its official website, stating that "salmon is a general term for salmonids, including Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, silver salmon, wang salmon, red salmon, autumn salmon, powder salmon, etc.", with the intention of making rainbow trout "regular" into salmon.
◎ The official website of China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association
Once the standard was published, consumers did not buy it, on the grounds that although the group standard was formulated by 13 affiliated enterprises, no scientific research institutes participated in the period, and the publicity time was insufficient, which did not meet the relevant regulations (Note 1). Moreover, the behavior of the company as both a player and a referee cannot guarantee impartiality at all.
In addition, major media and even state media have also raised voices to question the safety of raw "freshwater salmon". [7]
In the face of the flood of doubts, the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association said in an interview with the media that the standard is only a recommended standard and is voluntarily adopted by the industry and enterprises. [8] After that, as the heat of the matter declined, the standard gradually became unpopular, but the game of confusing salmon and rainbow trout did not stop there, but showed a trend of increasing chaos...
"Pet powder willful eat, salmon 1 yuan 1 slice!" Unlimited! ”
"9.9 yuan thick cut salmon, increase the amount without price increase!"
"1 yuan to eat salmon, unlimited supply, limited time to open!"
......
Just from the business's promotional copy, you can't tell if the salmon fillets that are about to be entered are real or fake.
PART.02
How to distinguish rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon?
With the advent of the triploid rainbow trout, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon from the sashimi alone. Both are very similar in flesh color, taste and fat texture.
So what to do? Either don't eat, or three words: look at the price.
Imported Atlantic salmon (Norwegian salmon) is about 100 yuan per kilogram, and the quality of good quality can reach more than 170 yuan per kilogram. The so-called "salmon" (rainbow trout) on the market, the price is mostly 30-40 yuan. [9] "Salmon" that sells too cheaply is most likely rainbow trout. Very helpless, the price, or the only criterion for distinguishing between real and fake salmon.
And for the merchant who sells the rainbow trout for the price of salmon, as an innocent foodie, he can only hope that the conscience of the unscrupulous merchant will find out or the god who raises his head three feet is blessed...
Note 1: The "Measures for the Formulation and Management of Group Standards of the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association" stipulates that "the standard drafting units shall include at least five enterprises and two scientific research institutes", "the industry group standards approved by the review shall be uniformly numbered by the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association, and shall be announced to the public for 15 days in the form of an announcement, and if there is no opinion, it shall be officially released".
Resources:
[1] Naturalist. Rainbow trout is classified as salmon Can you still eat sashimi? [EB/OL]. [2018-08-14].
Fang Yueyi,Chen Yingdan,Li Xueming,Wu Jun,Zhang Qiming,Ruan Caiwen. Investigation on the current status of infection in the epidemic area of Chinese mycodchiatosis[J].Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, 2008:25-29.
The Paper. What is the risk of raw rainbow trout? Parasitologists: All freshwater fish can be infected with hepatic flukes[EB/OL]. [2018-08-25].
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2379779
Zheng Shuguo,Xiang Canhong,Feng Xiaobin,Dong Jiahong. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatic hilar cholangiocarcinoma (2013 edition)[J].Chinese Journal of Surgery,2013,51(10):865-871.
[5] Technological life. Does rainbow trout belong to salmon? [EB/OL]. [2018-06-13].
http://www.bkmedia.cn/a/lanmu/redian/2018/0611/7492.html.
[6] Fruit shell. Freshwater rainbow trout finally managed to break into the saltwater salmon group? What impact will it have on us? [EB/OL]. [2018-8-13].
[7] Interface News. The announcement is only 3 days, no scientific research institutes participate, and the "Raw Salmon Group Standard" is like a joke [EB/OL]. [2018-08-15].
https://www.jiemian.com/article/2388171.html.
China Quality News. Group standards are not "tools" for group interests [EB/OL]. [2018-08-21].
http://epaper.cqn.com.cn/article/467760.html.
[9] Health Times. Rainbow trout is salmon? That aunt and aunt are your mother? [EB/OL]. [2018-08-16].