I purchased this wild Alaska Sockeye salmon from Walmart a few hours ago. Does anyone know if this is safe to consume raw to make a poke bowl? Thanks.

43 comments

1. It’s generally impossible to tell if fish is “sushi grade” or safe to eat raw from a picture alone. If you are looking for sushi grade fish, get fish that has been deep frozen (-20C for 7 days, or -35C for 15 hours, a household freezer does not get this low), or ask a local fishmonger with a good reputation for what they would recommend is safe to eat raw.

   If you are looking for a source for sushi grade fish, please make sure to include information about where you are, country and city.

   This was posted because, from your title, automod guessed you were asking about whether it was safe to eat certain fish raw.

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2. I’m no expert but I would generally say to avoid eating any grocery store fish raw in the US unless it is specifically labeled to be sushi grade.

3. I’ve had plenty of grocery store salmon for me and my family with absolutely no issues, but I always go for previously frozen, farmed salmon. Yours was frozen, but it’s wild. I would say that you’re more than likely safe, but I’m also no expert, and maybe you should be cautious about taking advice from randoms online.

4. https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-prepare-raw-fish-at-home-sushi-sashimi-food-safety

   I would never but whatever floats your toilet bowl.

   Give fried poke a try.

5. Yeah, I mean I’m down to eat a lot, but not that. I don’t mess with grocery store fish. That’s cool that YouTube guy eats Walmart salmon and I’m sure you can and whatnot but less concerned about it making me sick than I am it being just gross.

   Also sockeye is not a good sushi fish (in my opinion) as what makes salmon awesome is the buttery fat and sockeye is not that.

6. This video below maybe helpful for ya – Chef Hiroyuki essentially gives an overview of salmon that’s been purchased from a variety of sources, including Walmart.

   [https://youtu.be/yEH1TKlZyF0](https://youtu.be/yEH1TKlZyF0)

7. no man, don’t use that

8. I can’t make a statement about that piece of salmon. But I can tell you I bought a chicken at Walmart one time and when I opened it, it smelled like sulfur.

9. Since you only have 1 real answer in this post so far, I’ll help echo it.

   TLDR: is that “sushi grade” is not regulated in the US, and means absolutely **nothing**.

   It is entirely up to your fishmonger to rate it “sushi grade”. Which 9.9/10 times means taking the same salmon filet, halving it, and selling 1 half at a premium for sushi and the other half as regular salmon.

   Remember, most fish markets take scallops, shrimp etc. and pump them full of sodium tripolyphosphate and water so they will weigh more on the scale… it would be wise to become an educated consumer and take what they say with a grain of salt.

10. That is a negative sir. Fish, especially wild and from Walmart, cannot be trusted. That is not safe to be consumed raw, I’m pretty sure it might even say it on the packaging somewhere. Also, this cut is not what I would recommend nor would I recommend sockeye in general. You need more fatty salmon or tuna, not lean. Go to a fish market

11. It’s best to avoid wild caught you’re looking for farm raised to avoid parasites, but you still will have to cure the salmon and freeze it for a couple of days. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube to show you how to cure the salmon and it’s pretty easy

12. I wouldn’t take the risk. When you’re buying sushi grade fish, it will be indicated and marketed as such. Best to buy from a place that’s garnered trust specifically for supplying that sort of product.

    I don’t see anywhere on the label anything alluding you this piece of fish being sushi grade. It might be, but you can’t know for sure. Not worth it.

13. Unless it specifically states that it is sashimi grade, I wouldnt mess around. My local grocery store, the prepackaged sashimi grade frozen fish, I would get maybe less than half the amount for the same price.

14. I would not

15. All raw consumed salmon will have some risk for parasites, even if it’s low. Personally, my criteria are farmed salmon over wild because of the higher risk of parasites; and Atlantic salmon over pacific salmon, again because of the higher risk of parasites. The fact that your salmon is from Walmart is a lesser concern(for me) than the previous two criteria. that salmon is both wild and a pacific fish so it’s a no-go . however, I’ve definitely eaten Atlantic-farmed salmon from Walmart raw without issue.

    if you do decide to buy Walmart quality fish I would recommend putting it in something like a poke bowl where you can hide the low-quality flavor under a bunch of seasonings and rice rather than making something like nigiri or sashimi out of it where the salmon itself is intended to be the main taste.

16. If you want to eat it raw, unless the fish is sushi-grade, you need to cook it

17. No. Only farmed salmon is safe for raw never wild

18. I read the first few top comments and didn’t see my answer. Of course you want to find some sushi grade fish, but I can’t either, and if I did it would be dumb to pay that much for a night of mediocre sushi.

    Use farm raised fish for sushi. You don’t know what a wild fish went through, but a farm raised fish is in a controlled environment. You won’t get some crazy ass Chilean amoeba disease from some bad plankton or something that no doctor will have ever seen.

    Just my two cents. I eat Kroger brand farm raised raw salmon, Pollock and trout every few months

19. Oh God no

20. Wild caught is a big no no

21. Stick to hmart. But you really should at least lightly sauté salmon for a poke. Tuna? Yeah. It’s not as risky. Generally, I use the ‘sushi grade’ ahi, some shrimp and some flaky imitation crab for a poke. Never had any problems with that combo.

22. no it is not safe to eat raw

23. Tempura fry it

24. You know how Walmart treats its workers. Those workers have no reason to be truly vigilant about sanitation or cold custody, and if they are, it’s because they’re good people and not because they have any stake in the Walmart brand.

    I would not eat that raw. I wouldn’t eat any Walmart meat or fish raw.

    Get your sushi-grade fish from a real monger who is professionally and personally invested. Or just cook your fish!

25. Please don’t

26. All sea fish is frozen in the USA before being sold to the consumer at a temp that is qualified for raw fish. Now sushi grade in the USA just means it’s can be used for sushi aka maki

27. Marinate it. Should be fine afterwards.

28. 100% no, wild salmon needs to be deep frozen to kill of parasites. Also that is wildly expensive, I just paid 9.99/lb for wild sockeye at an actual grocery store

29. I doubt it’s safe, but it doesn’t stop me.

30. “previously frozen” does not give enough information for me regarding any treatment that may have killed parasites

    As others have pointed, parasite risk in wild caught fish is high

    Even if parasites were killed by it being frozen at a low enough temperature for a long enough time (which we can’t be certain of and we should doubt it whenever it’s not clearly stated), there is still bacterial risk because you don’t know how long it’s been sitting at certain temperatures

    It’s definitely not worth the risk, you should cook it

31. I’d never eat anything meat-related raw from Walmart. Or most any grocery store bought foods. You’re Asking for trouble, imo.

32. NO. You cannot make sushi from anything other than sushi grade fish!

33. Those packaged salmons have a terrible smell regardless if fresh or not…. I wouldn’t eat those raw no matter what…. I’d trust fresh salmon at Costco before I eat that stuff raw…

34. I rarely buy salmon from Walmart but if I do it always has to be previously frozen, I will stare at it for 5 mins to make sure that I find where it says that, idk if fully freezing it in your freezer works because they flash freeze it somewhere in the process

35. No, please don’t eat it raw

36. I personally wouldn’t unless it was sold as sushi grade… lol the frozen tuna I buy at the grocery store I always sear at a minimum. When I do bowls at home with salmon I use smoked or air fried salmon.

    I don’t know about your Walmart, but it’s not always the highest quality products at mine. This alone makes me fear that for you.

37. Wild salmon sucks raw. But it looks to be frozen correctly so if it has parasites they will be dead.

38. Cook it and put it over rice and call it whatever you want. But, no, please don’t eat this raw.

39. A thousand times No

40. Give it a little sizzle and enjoy

41. No

42. You got me at walmart and raw

43. I wouldn’t eat much from Walmart undercooked