Do you like to eat sushi or sashimi? Maybe some of you don’t like Japanese food because you don’t like raw food or maybe you are worried about getting sick that can be caused by raw food. However, can eating sushi and sashimi actually harm your health?

Parasites in raw food

The soft and smooth texture of the raw fish that we can taste in sushi and sashimi is a particular attraction for the audience. As we already know, sushi and sashimi are foods that are served raw. Sushi itself is a roll of rice with a filling in the form of raw or uncooked fish (we will discuss about sushi with raw food stuffing). On the other hand, sashimi is thin slices of raw fish meat, especially salmon and tuna.

You need to know that all living things, including fish, have parasites (which are not from contamination). Parasites present in raw fish are generally Salmonella bacteria. This parasite will die when the food is cooked until cooked. However, parasites can still be found in raw foods, such as raw fish in sushi and sashimi.

Most of these parasites cannot adapt to the human body. Some of the parasites in raw fish can be digested in the body without causing serious consequences, but some can cause health-threatening effects, such as foodborne disease or food poisoning.

For many healthy people, eating normal amounts of raw fish or seafood may present a small health risk. However, it is possible to cause illness from food, it can potentially cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and other indications.

How about sushi and sashimi, isn’t it risky?

Some threats to watch out for when you eat sushi or sashimi, such as fish may not be fresh, fish may rot, or there are germs in the fish. However, this can be found before eating because usually fish will cause an unpleasant odor. Fish that have been in this kind of state, in fact immediately removed.

However, there is still another bigger threat in raw fish, namely parasites, which are not easy to find. To reduce these parasites, of course the raw fish served on sushi and sashimi have been processed in such a way before being served. Fish selected for sushi and sashimi must also meet certain standards, so that they are comfortable to eat.

The fish used to make sushi and sashimi is usually frozen at -20°C for 7 days or frozen at -35°C for 15 hours. Freezing is intended to kill the parasites found in the fish. So, as long as sushi and sashimi are prepared properly according to applicable food safety regulations, the risk of sushi and sashimi to cause disease can be very small, making it comfortable to eat. However, this does not rule out the possibility that there are still very small amounts of harmful organisms in raw fish, even though they have gone through the freezing process.

In healthy people, eating raw fish, such as in sushi and sashimi, may not pose a risk. However, for people who are at great risk, eating raw fish can cause foodborne disease, serious illness, and even more so it can be critical of the soul. People listed at high risk for developing the disease are those with low immune systems, people with lower stomach acidity, mothers of two, toddlers, children, and older people. People who are at great risk are not recommended to eat raw fish in sushi or sashimi.

So, in general, consumption of sushi and sashimi in fairly frequent quantities may not be dangerous for healthy people. However, you always have to pay attention to the freshness of the fish, cleanliness, processing, and presentation of sushi and sashimi to avoid unwanted risks. Choose a restaurant that truly practices food safety in serving sushi and sashimi.

For people who are at high risk, consuming sushi and sashimi can pose a big health risk. For those of you who are at great risk, consume fish that has been cooked at least 63 ° C for 15 seconds.