Woman Finds Worms in Salmon Fish: Is it Normal or Not?

Imagine going through the seafood section in a supermarket and finding a live wriggling worm in the salmon fish in front of you. Would you still get it for tonight’s dinner or rush to the store manager to inform him about this?

A similar situation made the headlines recently when a woman named Rachel Lyn recorded a video of a live worm in a sealed package of fresh salmon fillet at Costco and posted it on TikTok. It created havoc among the people about the store maintenance, but the thing to question is whether this is a rare occurrence, or is it more common than we think?

In this article, we’ll look into the case of Rachel Lyn’s salmon-worm encounter, discuss whether they are harmful to us, and learn how to deal with them.

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Viral News of Wriggling Worm in Salmon at Costco Store

Costco has been under lawsuits earlier because of customers finding worms in their fish (Image by Rachel Lyn on TikTok)

After Rachel posted the TikTok video of an orange-colored worm moving inside a packaged salmon fillet, it went viral in no time. People soon began bashing Costco for ignoring the health of its customers and compromising the quality standards of their products.

It is important to note that this isn’t the first time that worms in salmon fish have been encountered at Costco. Both Costco and Whole Foods have faced legal charges against similar types of occurrences in the past.

However, the truth may seem somewhat unbelievable to many, but worms in salmon, or any other kind of fresh organic fish, are more common than you may think. In fact, you have probably consumed a lot of worms already if you’re a seafood-lover.

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Are Worms in Salmon Harmful for Us?

Most of the organic fishes are or have been infected with worms (Image by KamranAydinov on Freepik)

The worms found in the salmon at Costco, as well as various other kinds of fishes like Halibut, are known as "Anisakis nematodes." In ordinary language, these are also referred to as herring or cod worms.

These worms infect nearly 75% of the wild fishes of the Pacific Ocean and are not just limited to the West Coast. Unless the fish you’re buying is grown in an isolated tank, the probability of not finding a worm in it is quite low, and fishermen have to do a lot of work to remove these worms before they reach the stores.

The presence of worms in it can make you think that the fish is stale and old, but the reality is actually the opposite. Live worms indicate that the fish has never been frozen and is as fresh as ever. When cooked properly, the worms in fish die and don’t cause any problems to our health.

But when eating raw fish, like in sushi, you should ensure that there aren’t any worms present as consumption of a live worm can leave you with an upset stomach and may be life-threatening in very rare cases.

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How to Remove the Wriggling Creatures from Fish?

A pair of tweezers can come handy in removing the worms from fish before cooking (Image by Freepik on Freepik)

In case you encounter worms in salmon or any other fish while cooking, there’s no need to panic. Fishermen take many measures to remove the worms, but the probability of a few slipping through is still there.

The worms may appear as thin, translucent threads moving through the fish, and they can be removed from the fish using tweezers or a sharp knife. Make sure to remove the entire worm and wash the fish thoroughly. Cooking properly at high temperatures ensures that if there are any worms present, they cannot potentially harm you in any way.

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So, we saw how a TikTok posted by Rachel Lyn created tension among people about worms in salmon at Costco, or more particularly, at any seafood store you usually go to.

However, it becomes essential to understand that these types of occurrences are quite common, and the worms cannot cause harm to us if we’re cooking the fish properly. Keeping an eye on the fish during cleaning and adopting some preventive measures can ensure that these little wrigglers will not cause you any damage.