Not Everyone Finds These Costco Salmon Skins 'Dangerously Addictive'

Have you ever snacked on crispy fish skins? Healthline confirms that they're not only safe to eat, but also pack in tons of nutrients. Fried fish skins have long been a popular snack to munch on in Southeast Asian countries. Per Forbes, the dish comes in many flavors, but one of the best known was born in China and has since spread in popularity around the world: salted egg, a deeply savory egg preserved in salt brine.

What was once a street dish has now turned into a popular packaged snack, with companies like Irvins selling fried fish skins with salted egg flavoring at leading supermarkets such as Costco. While the snack maker proudly markets its fish skins with a "dangerously addictive" label on the bag, Costco shoppers on Reddit are not so sure that the brand's salted egg salmon skins are addictive at all. "I'm personally a huge fan but it can be an acquired taste. The salted egg is a rich savory powder coating over crisp fish skins that are kind of similar to chicacharon without the puffed airyness," wrote one user, who added that their friends and family aren't as big on the snack.

One Costco shopper on Reddit admitted that they don't necessarily have anything against Irvins salmon skins, in particular, but against fish skins in general: "The skin always gets thrown away when I cook salmon. It is way too greasy and that is where most of the fishy smell comes from," they said. Others said that they don't believe the price (about $12 to $14, one user said) is worth the bag of fish skins, or that the skins lack the true flavor of salted eggs.

Another user, however, found that Costco's salmon skins exceeded their expectations, especially when compared to the more expensive alternatives they have seen at other stores. Still, they added that the snack has "lots of calories for sure, 4-8 pieces per serving and it's 180 calories... definitely feel guilty after eating a couple." Others were also concerned about the perceived unhealthiness of the fried salmon skins; in a separate thread, one commenter wrote that while they're "ridiculously good and addictive," they are "hella unhealthy. Sodium and fat up the butt." Yet another added that "a serving size is like one piece because of the sodium and cholesterol." Irvins website shows that a 50-gram serving of the snack contains 59% of the recommended daily value of saturated fat and 13% of the sodium.

While the jury may be on the fence about the "dangerously addictive" quality of Irvins fish skins, one shopper claimed that they're better than the brand that Costco previously sold: "These are good! Glad they switch to Irvins!"