What are the Risks of Eating Undercooked Salmon?

7 min readMar 12, 2022

What are the Risks of Eating Undercooked Salmon? Sashimi, which is fully raw salmon, has become a delicacy in several areas of the world. Whether you like it or not, most of us understand that the freshness of raw meat is critical to safety, and that eating undercooked or raw meat offers significant health hazards. How can we walk the delicate line between safe and fresh food and potential health risks?

To maintain food safety, make sure everything is well cooked, however this increases the danger of dry and unpleasant meats. There must be a method to enjoy salmon that preserves its juiciness in the middle without risking illness or food poisoning, especially given salmon’s numerous health advantages.

What are the Risks of Eating Undercooked Salmon

What happens when you eat raw salmon? Consuming raw salmon exposes you to the risk of catching a tapeworm, being ill from bacterial and viral infection, and cross-contamination, which is especially dangerous for pregnant women, children, and the elderly.

The consequences are frightening, yet there are methods to completely benefit from this superfood without jeopardizing your health.

What Eating Raw Salmon Can Do to Your Health

The dangers of eating raw salmon are quite similar to those of eating undercooked salmon (or raw food of any kind). Keep in mind that when you consume sashimi at your local sushi restaurant, you are putting your trust in the food’s preparation.

If properly prepared, you should be alright, but the scenario changes dramatically if the undercooked or raw salmon is not fresh.

Infections caused by parasites, bacteria, and viruses

One of the most likely consequences of eating undercooked and unsafe salmon is being ill with an infection. Parasites, for example, present in raw fish and are destroyed during the cooking process due to intense heat, which is the primary reason we prepare our food. A parasitic infection can make you quite ill.

Risks of Eating Undercooked Salmon

A common parasitic illness is caused by a tapeworm or a roundworm, which live in your small intestine and can grow to be more than 30 feet long.

Bacterial and viral infections can also make you sick, causing moderate to severe side effects (if you’re lucky). Salmonella is an example of a bacteria that causes salmon bacterial infection (hence the name).

Cross-Contamination

Cross-contamination occurs when any food comes into touch with a contaminated cooking device or other component. For example, if you use the same knife that was used to prepare infected fish to cut your steak, the steak would be damaged as well.

Cross-contamination provides the same hazards as diseases; the difference is that instead of being limited to a single component, it affects your entire meal. Cross-contamination is more significant at restaurants since it can affect everyone, rather than just one table of customers.

Should You Eat Salmon? — What Are the Health Advantages?

The possible perils of eating raw salmon are enough to turn anyone’s stomach, but is avoiding this vital source of protein the best solution? We wouldn’t say that since we feel that the advantages of including salmon in your diet much outweigh the drawbacks. So, what are some of these benefits?

Fatty Acids Omega-3

Salmon is well-known for its omega-3 fatty acids, but what does it do? This chemical is sourced from fish and has been manufactured into a supplement known as fish oil.

Omega-3 fatty acids provide several health advantages, including improved brain function, cell function, and joint protection. It also serves to decrease your blood pressure, manage inflammation (the core cause of many ailments), and enhance your mood.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants have been linked to better immunological function. Antioxidants are typically present in foods that are vividly colored. Fresh salmon is a healthy pinkish-orange hue, indicating that it contains the antioxidant component astaxanthin.

Protein

As previously said, salmon is an excellent source of protein, which our bodies require to develop muscle, bone, and cartilage. Salmon is a popular protein in diet nutrition because it helps retain muscle mass while also regulating your metabolic rate as your body adjusts to the weight reduction routine.

Vitamin B

Another advantage of salmon is its high concentration of B vitamins, such as vitamin B12, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, and folic acid, which serve to decrease inflammation and repair DNA to keep your body in top form.

How to Check to See if Your Salmon Is Cooked and Safe

Salmon is too valuable an item to forego, so how can we incorporate it as a dinner staple without jeopardizing our health?

Selection of Salmon

The choosing procedure begins at your neighborhood supermarket. You must ensure that you buy fresh fish by checking to see if it is kept on ice or frozen at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (around 4.5-degrees Celsius).

If you don’t have access to this information, your best choice is to buy frozen fish from the freezer department. The fish is normally sold in bulk and bundled in vacuum-sealed plastic bags.

Storage of Salmon

The next step in maintaining food safety at home is to preserve it appropriately. If you bought frozen fish, you won’t have to worry because it will keep in the freezer for a long time.

However, after frozen salmon pieces have been thawed or fresh fish has been purchased, they will only stay in your fridge for a maximum of two days.

How to Cook Salmon Correctly

If you’ve done everything correctly up to this point, it’s time to start cooking. Even if you have chosen and kept the fish carefully, there is still a chance of infection, no matter how minor. To ensure that your salmon is correctly cooked, follow the instructions outlined below.

First, prepare a meat thermometer. It’s not completely required because you can still check to see whether your salmon is done in other ways, but a meat thermometer will give more precision regardless of the cooking technique.

Whether you boil, steam, bake, or grill your salmon, you want to cook it until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit (about 62-degrees Celsius).

The length of time it takes for the fish to achieve this internal temperature varies on the manner of cooking, the thickness of the fish, and whether or not other ingredients are present.

For example, if you preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (about 232 degrees Celsius), the cooking time will be between 12 and 15 minutes.

Whether you don’t have a meat thermometer, you may just eyeball it to see if it’s done. Keep in mind, though, that preparing it this manner may spoil the appearance of your meal because you will need to delve into the thickest area to check.

As the salmon cooks, it turns a lighter orangey-pink color. If you have salmon steaks, sear and cook them on one side for a couple of minutes (depending on thickness), then flip them over and cook the other side for the same length of time.

Salmon steaks are simple to watch since the flesh can be seen on the side. After both sides have been cooked, the lighter colour of salmon should meet in the center, indicating that your fish is almost done.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Is it OK to consume slightly undercooked salmon?

Even if the salmon is slightly undercooked, we do not advocate eating it. While it may be alright if the fish has been properly preserved, the alternative is a costly price to pay. You might catch an infection or become severely ill.

What Happens If You Consume Raw Salmon?

Uncooked or raw salmon is OK as long as the right precautions are taken to keep it fresh. Sashimi is raw salmon that is delicious and easy to consume. If the fish isn’t fresh, you run the danger of bacterial, viral, and parasite illness, as well as food poisoning.

How Can You Tell if Your Salmon Is Overcooked?

Cooked salmon is a lighter shade of the same hue and entirely opaque, but undercooked salmon is transparent and deeper shade of orangey-pink. When cooked, fish meat flakes, so when you see some separation on the sides and no longer have any translucency, your salmon is done.

Is it Safe to Consume Pink Salmon?

Eating just slightly transparent salmon in the center is fine, but if the middle of the fish is primarily a dark translucent orangey-pink colour, we recommend avoiding it.

How Soon Will You Get Sick After Eating Undercooked Fish?
If you consume raw fish, the symptoms may appear minutes or hours later. The sickness might last a day or two until you get all of the afflicted fish out of your system, or it could continue a few days.