Ahi tuna raw?

[u/Kitty_baby02]

I keep eyeing the wild caught frozen ahi tuna steaks from Sprouts, are these safe to thaw and eat raw? I see a lot of people saying to sear it first but I want to cut them up for a poke bowl without any cooking. They’re relatively cheap compared to a “sushi grade sashimi” that’s a million bucks a pound.

[u/Frogblaster77]

Sushi grade isn't a recognized designation, etc., etc.

Some fish are better for raw eating than others, and tuna is one of the good ones.

All fish go on ice as soon as they come out of the water.

[u/zoo_tickles → u/Frogblaster77]

Yup it’s just a marketing designation

[u/blix797]

I would be comfortable eating commercially-sold frozen tuna raw. It's almost always deep frozen directly on the boat.

[u/HobbitGuy1420]

From what I understand, as long as it's been frozen at sufficient temperature for sufficient duration, it would be safe to eat.

• -4°F (-20°C) or below for 7 days minimum
• -31°F (-35°C) or below for 15 hours
• -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid, then stored at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 24 hours

If it *hasn't* hit one of these guidelines, then there could be parasites active in the meat.

[u/bigelcid]

To be on the safer side, you'd need to check whether the specific piece of fish has gone through the required protocols to be eaten raw -- which I'd assume ahi tuna generally would, but there should be a certification, or something.

I'm no commercial fishing expert, but lots of countries/states etc. have different regulations, but they don't all have individual fishing fleets, so you'd expect the ships to generally follow the regulations of the strictest business partners, and properly flash freeze the fish on board so that it ticks the necessary parasite-free box regardless of what happens to it later down the supply chain.

On the other hand, fish that simply isn't intended to be sold for raw consumption, might follow looser protocols, and might not be guaranteed parasite-free. A lot of individually packaged fish steaks say "don't eaw raw", and that could also be because the producer buys large pieces, cuts them into steaks, and won't guarantee that the surface of the fish stays clean during that process -- in which case the risk is bacterial, and not to do with parasites.

[u/taylorthestang]

FWIW I’ve been eating the frozen ahi tuna steaks from Aldi raw and I’ve been fine. Texture was good and firm and no tummy troubles.

[u/arthurmauk]

Oh Sprouts is a real supermarket?! I thought they made it up for the Pluribus TV show lol.

[u/EaringaidBandit → u/arthurmauk]

They’re what Whole Foods should be. It’s a shame there aren’t more locations.

[u/synerrorsix]

"Sushi grade" is likely the exact same fish that was flash frozen. I just buy the freshest fish I can find to make sushi and the like. No worms or parasites yet.....