Can You Eat Raw Salmon?

Salmon is an incredibly versatile fish which is why you'll see it served in many forms from smoked and grilled to even raw. According to Smart Source Seafood, yes, you can eat raw salmon, however, before you transform into a grizzly bear and start hanging out by waterfalls, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind before chowing down. 

If you're eating wild salmon and you didn't catch it yourself, you'll want to be sure that it was flash frozen in accordance with FDA guidelines. This means that immediately after it was caught the fish was frozen at "an ambient temperature of -31 degrees Fahrenheit" to kill any parasites in the fish. You definitely don't want a sketchy poke bowl giving you worms — eek, worms! Besides giving you a major case of the psychological willies, parasites in raw salmon could cause you to experience abdominal pain, weight loss, or anemia (via Healthline). It's at least somewhat reassuring though, that only about 20 percent of those infected with a worm from eating raw salmon even experience symptoms, and the risk is rather low (via The Chicago Tribune). 

As for the benefits of eating raw salmon, well, aside from taste or stoking some primitive urge, some believe that it helps with weight loss, but this isn't exactly true. Though it is a great low-fat protein option full of omega-3 fatty acids and may help counter obesity and heart disease, simply eating it raw won't magically make your body burn more fat (via SF Gate). 

There's no reason not to eat raw salmon if you enjoy it and if you're confident that it was properly handled after being caught. Aside from knowing your raw salmon was frozen before landing on your plate, the Wild Alaskan Company recommends giving it a poke to see if it's firm, and checking smell. Your salmon sushi shouldn't smell particularly fishy.