Ever stand in front of the seafood counter at your local grocery store, staring at labels that say things like “sushi grade” or “previously frozen,” and wonder what any of that actually means? You’re definitely not alone. The seafood industry operates with a confusing mix of marketing terms, federal guidelines, and age-old practices that can leave even experienced cooks scratching their heads.
Here’s the thing. That pristine piece of salmon sitting on ice, labeled as fresh and perfect for your homemade sushi roll, might have a story more complicated than you’d expect. The truth about what makes fish safe to eat raw isn’t really about it being fresh at all. Let’s dive in and unpack what’s really going on behind those gleaming display cases.
The Sushi Grade Myth Nobody Tells You About
There is no official federal standard for what qualifies as “sushi grade” fish in the United States. Let that sink in for a moment. The term is completely unregulated, which means it could be used as an unfounded marketing ploy to upsell fish without consequences. Honestly, it’s a bit shocking when you first learn this.
Most fish sellers use the term “sushi quality” to describe their supply of fish, and this involves freezing the fish before it is sold. The label creates an illusion of special treatment or certification, something that justifies a higher price point. Think of it like calling something “artisanal” or “gourmet.” It sounds impressive, feels premium, yet there’s nobody checking if it actually meets any particular standard. The grocery store down the street could slap a sushi grade sticker on virtually any piece of fish they want.
What the FDA Actually Requires for Raw Fish
Although there are no actual guidelines to determine if a fish is sushi grade, the Food and Drug Administration has regulations for the proper handling procedures of fish meant for raw consumption. These aren’t suggestions. They’re serious requirements designed to protect you from parasites that naturally occur in fish.
The FDA calls this the “Parasite Destruction Guarantee,” which requires freezing and storing at an ambient temperature of negative four degrees Fahrenheit or below for seven days total time. Alternatively, freezing at negative thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit or below until solid and storing at negative thirty-one degrees for fifteen hours, or freezing at negative thirty-one degrees until solid and storing at negative four degrees for twenty-four hours is sufficient to kill parasites. These aren’t gentle chills. We’re talking about deep, bone-freezing cold that destroys microscopic threats lurking in the flesh.
Freezing kills parasites that are common in fish. Japan alone accounts for roughly ninety percent of all cases of anisakiasis described in medical literature because of the widespread use of raw fish in traditional Japanese cuisine. That’s a staggering statistic when you consider how careful Japanese fish suppliers typically are.
The Frozen Truth Behind “Fresh” Labels
Walk into any supermarket and you’ll see fish marketed as “fresh” sitting right next to clearly labeled “previously frozen” options. Most shoppers naturally gravitate toward the fresh label, believing it’s superior. That’s exactly what the marketing wants you to think. Most ocean fish is frozen anyway, as fish goes off so quickly that fishing boats have blast freezers on board, which is the best way to preserve the texture.
Fish processors don’t have to do anything special to meet freezing requirements, and finding never-frozen fish actually requires going out of your way. So that “fresh” salmon you’re eyeing? There’s a decent chance it was frozen at some point in its journey from ocean to store. Fresh fish and fish fillets sold as “Previously Frozen” may not have all the characteristics of fresh fish, however, they should still smell fresh and mild, not fishy, sour, or ammonia-like. The label game is more about perception than reality.
Mislabeling Happens More Than You’d Think
A recent meta-analysis was conducted on seafood mislabeling studies that tested commercial samples from thirty-two U.S. states, and the overall mislabeling rate was roughly thirty-nine percent. That means if you buy ten pieces of fish, nearly four of them might not be what the label claims. It’s a jarring reality that most consumers never consider when making their seafood selections.
Restaurants exhibited a much higher mislabeling rate at fifty-five percent compared to grocery stores at roughly twenty-six percent. Mislabeling was more prevalent in certain product forms, with sushi and sashimi showing the highest rates at about sixty-eight percent, followed by ceviche and poke at nearly fifty-five percent. So that high-end sushi restaurant you love? There’s a pretty solid chance at least one of the fish species on your plate isn’t what you ordered.
In a recent study along the southeastern coast of the United States, fish labeled as red snapper at sushi restaurants were mislabeled one hundred percent of the time. Not some of the time. Every single time. That’s not a mistake or confusion. That’s systematic substitution.
Country of Origin Labels Tell an Incomplete Story
Country of Origin Labeling is a law that requires retailers like full-line grocery stores and supermarkets to notify customers with information regarding the source of certain foods, including wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish. The requirements for fish and shellfish must also include the method of production, which indicates if the item was farm-raised or wild, with acceptable labeling options being farm-raised, farmed, wild, or wild-caught.
Sounds straightforward, right? Here’s where it gets murky. Sometimes other qualities of seafood are mislabeled in addition to the species name, such as the country of origin, which allows processors to avoid regulations and fees, or even to sneak illegally caught fish into the supply chain. Labels can be technically correct while still misleading you about what you’re actually buying.
According to the Journal of Education and Health Promotion, nearly fifty-eight percent of consumers don’t understand food label information. That’s more than half of all shoppers wandering around confused, trying to decode information that should be crystal clear.
What Inspectors Actually Find When They Look
NOAA’s seafood inspectors see about one-fifth of the seafood consumed in the United States every year and find some kind of fraud in up to forty percent of all products submitted to them voluntarily. These are professionals trained to spot problems, and even when businesses voluntarily submit their products for inspection, knowing they’ll be scrutinized, fraud still shows up at alarming rates.
Studies and investigations have found that various types of seafood fraud are committed along the supply chain, with types ranging from simple misunderstandings or lack of information to blatant deception to increase profits and attempts to launder illegally harvested seafood. Some of it is innocent confusion. Some of it is deliberate crime. Either way, you’re the one getting fooled at the checkout counter.
The really concerning part? Determining whether seafood is accurately labeled is difficult for consumers, but also for the experts, though regulators and industry are cracking down on seafood fraud with a growing suite of tools from inspections and criminal investigations to traceability systems and genetic analysis. If trained inspectors struggle with this, what chance does the average shopper have?
The Parasite Problem Most People Ignore
All living organisms, including fish, can have parasites, and they are as common in fish as insects are in fruits and vegetables. It’s a natural part of the ecosystem, not some rare contamination event. All fish species are potentially at risk from parasites, and if live parasite larvae are eaten, it can cause human illness including abdominal pain, nausea, or allergic reactions in some people.
Parasites become a concern when consumers eat raw or lightly preserved fish such as sashimi, sushi, ceviche, and gravlax, and when preparing these products, one should use commercially frozen fish or alternatively freeze the fish to an internal temperature of negative four degrees Fahrenheit for at least seven days to kill any parasites. Home freezers range from zero to ten degrees Fahrenheit and may not be cold enough to kill parasites. So that DIY sushi night you’re planning with fish from the grocery store? Your home freezer probably isn’t doing the job you think it is.
The dangers of unfrozen fish largely come from Anisakis, the most common marine parasite, though tapeworms can also be present in the flesh of freshwater fish, with Anisakis being a small handful of species that begin their life cycle infecting crustaceans and krill. These aren’t just theoretical risks. They’re real organisms waiting for a warm host.
Some Fish Get Special Treatment
Not all fish are created equal when it comes to parasite risk. Fish other than tuna must be frozen in the United States to be called sushi grade, and only sushi grade fish can be sold raw in restaurants in most jurisdictions. Tuna is resistant to parasites, so it’s one of the few species of fish considered safe to eat raw with minimal processing, making it one of the safest fish to consume raw.
Aquaculture fish, such as salmon, that are served raw or undercooked are exempt from the freezing requirements if they are fed formulated feed that does not contain live parasites, and if raised in open waters like lakes rather than tanks or farm ponds, the open waters fish must be raised in net-pens, with suppliers required to provide records or a guarantee that these fish have been raised and fed under these conditions. There are exemptions to the rules, but they come with their own sets of requirements and documentation that most consumers never see.
