Parasites and Sushi: Information About Consuming Raw Fish for Travelers to Japan

The reaction to raw fish, sushi as many believe it to be, from Westerners is usually disgust. Though there are certainly those from the west who enjoy eating sushi and sashimi, even if it does have raw meat, there are always more who find it disgusting. Eating raw meat, for whatever, reason, disgusts many, and few will try it despite thinking it gross.

A big concern some have is about parasites and bacteria, parasites in particular. Anytime one consumes raw meats of any kind, there is a chance of contracting a parasite, and another chance of being contaminated and made ill by bacteria. This is a fair question from anyone who is considering eating sushi or sashimi, and this article will detail the reasons why it is not a likely danger to worry about.

The first thing to remember is that sushi is not raw fish - it may contain raw fish, but that would only be a small ingredient. Sushi simply means it was made with vinegared rice. Sashimi, on the other hand, is a lot closer to being raw fish, though it is still made with delicious rice and maybe some vegetables (and certainly dip it in soy sauce, yum). So, don't panic if someone offers you sushi, there's a good chance it doesn't even have raw fish in it.

Now, with that said, there are dangerous to eating raw fish - one could get sick from it or contract a parasite. This isn't, as surprising as it may sound, very common - if eating raw fish was a big health risk, the Japanese would have started frying it centuries ago. The biggest risk that one should care about is a particular parasite called anisakiasis.