Is Sushi Grade a Scam?

Is "sushi grade" fish a scam? I bought some sushi grade salmon a couple weeks ago and it wasn't very good and was about $15/pound. Today I bought this non-sushi grade salmon for $8/pound, rinsed it, sliced it up (shittily, I know) and ate it as sashimi and it was much better. Just as good as salmon I've had in restaurants. I've had better, but I've also been served much worse.

Am I going to die? I bought it at an HEB grocery store, not frozen, packaged (not from behind the glass in the seafood department). It smelled and looked fine.

I had been craving salmon sashimi for weeks and it really hit the spot.

Sushi grade has nothing to do with taste, texture, or flavor. It just lets you know it's safe to eat raw (even though not all sushi is raw).

You could've gotten non-sushi grade salmon that was higher quality, but it's not as safe to eat that way and you have a higher risk of contracting a parasite. It's probably still a low risk, but I wouldn't make a habit out of it.

There is no standard or requirement for the term "sushi grade" in the US. It is pure marketing with nothing to back it up. Not sure if this applies everywhere, I assume Japan would have something to say about it in their country.

Report back when you get the parasitic days long shits.

You got it, pal

ewww... you got worms now

there's a little asian lady that makes sushi at my local HEB

Sushi grade normally just means it was frozen before hand, because freezing kills worms so you can eat it raw. All raw fish used in sushi is flash frozen first and then thawed out. "Sushi grade" is not a marker of either freshness or quality

If you want to be sure you don't get worms just freeze it yourself and then thaw it for consumption. Sushi grade is indeed a rip-off.

I thought the freezing temperature had to be something like -50c for 3 days?

Fish can also be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, primarily due to deficiencies in handling and hygiene. This is not just theory, but quite common. However, fish is less likely to be contaminated with very dangerous species like Campylobacter, E. coli or Salmonella and more likely to be contaminated with comparatively harmless species like Listeria. Regardless, sushi grade indicates not just absence of live eukaryotes (i.e. parasites), but also prokaryotes (which is not required for fish which is labeled as intended for cooking).

Yes it does, you can freeze it at lower temps but it takes more time and the lower temps cause larger ice crystals for form changing the texture more.

You got that backwards, buddy. Freezing at lower temperatures causes the state change of water to occur too quickly for large crystals to form. If OP freezes fish in a home freezer, he's likely to see some degradation in texture. I don't know how much it'll affect the taste, though.

Lower temperatures means closer to the freezing point dumbfuck

Is texture really worth a slow and painful death on the chance the fish you ate was a complete dumbass?

""Parasites become a concern when consumers eat raw or lightly preserved fish such as sashimi, sushi, ceviche, and gravlax. When preparing these products, use commercially frozen fish. Alternatively, freeze the fish to an internal temperature of -4°F for at least 7 days to kill any parasites that may be present. Home freezers are usually between 0°F and 10°F and may not be cold enough to kill the parasites.""

OP here. Spent the night in the emergency room.

Just kidding. 24 hours after eating the salmon and no problems yet. Thank you every for the great info. Like suggested, I won't make a habit out of this. But I would do it again if the fish looks as good it did this time.

For what it's worth, what I read said that parasites are much less common in farmed salmon as parasites come from eating infected prey. Farmed fish are fed food pellets. I still realize I am taking a risk, but I have health insurance and I'm not a pregnant woman, sickly or elderly. I might get sick as a dog one day, but the parasites aren't deadly. Thanks again

I eat raw fish a lot and I've never gotten parasites. I didn't even know that was a concern.

you ate a plate of raw fish? i get queasy after like 3 especially a slimy fish like salmon

Split that plate with my gf. It was about 14 oz of salmon. Had some bamboo shoots in chili oil with it.

I rarely eat cooked salmon at all anymore. I prefer it raw

Blows my mind how people on Veeky Forums get so paranoid about raw/rare meat and seafood. Just find a good butcher and fishmonger ffs. And don't eat raw shit in crap restaurants.

You could have done worse.

One time I felt like a daredevil when I bought some nice looking salmon from Costco and proceeded to make sushi with it.

The sushi was great and nothing bad happened to me but I wouldn't do it again since it was a lot of salmon to eat through and after like a week of eating salmon sushi, I became tired of salmon.

In australia (Sydney)

the fish market doesn't call it sushi grade, it's called sashimi grade.

There's no freezing involved, they catch it (onto a mattress), brain spike it, gut it and drop it in iced water to get the fish close to freezing as fast as possible, thus not really any time for bacteria to start to multiply.

The idea being you eat within the day you purchase it..

THIS A MILLION TIMES
sushi grade is bullshit meme term. like olive oil, it matters more that you know who makes/catches it, how they treat it for parasites, etc, than the label. don't trust the label.

I am almost certain sashimi grade is deep frozen to ensure the parasites die.

I guess you could probably live if you just straight up ate wild salmon, but I would definitely not eat some farm fish raw.

I had no idea people are raw salmon until like a week ago. I've only ever eaten raw Ahi.

You should try it, user

Do this if its not fresh like this user says:

>living in a country where you can't trust labels

Why is the US so shit at this sort of thing?

There's plenty of strict grades/labels in the US. It's simply that "sushi grade" isn't one of them.

That still doesn't mean that the fish doesn't have parasites
That cannot be right
The whole of Australia cannot be this dumb

Why the worry about parasites? That's so incredibly rare that it seems an odd thing to get worked up over.

Same. Its actually pretty good desu, expensive though.

I live on the west coast (of the US) and close to several fish markets. They call it "sashimi grade" here too.
Also, salmon is shit tier for sashimi. I love salmon, but I'd rather have it cooked or smoked, there's so much better and more flavorful fish for sashimi.

Aw shiet is that some 'go'za'mon'shimi????

Sushi grade isn't a real grade, so yes it's a scam. The only thing required for sushi fish in the US is that it's frozen for 40 hours or some shit.

because even if it is a small chance, you'll still have thousands of people infected every year with some dying for a completely avoidable reason

That's why you ask if it was flash frozen