Help with Parasite ID from a Flounder. WARNING: A little gross

[vicdotcom]

Ok I ate some steamed flounder filets and found this inside after I ate about half the portion. It was previously frozen but I wanted to see if anyone could help me ID this bug. I am pretty sure the freezing would have killed any eggs but I wanted to see if I had anything more to worry about. IDing the worm is the first step I guess.

Thanks in advance all! It was found inside the flakes of the flesh if that helps. Here are the pics. I am thinking Nematode or anisakis but I dont know.

Ohh the yellowish color might be from the pickling juice I kept it in. It was beige in color originally.

[NaturalAcoustics]

Thats pretty crazy never had anythign like that happen =/ you call the company or something or was it a fish you caught?

[mrlitetackle]

ive found worms in some larger fish that i have caught in the salt.

luckily i spotted them as i was filleting them, and not eating them...

as for those,

i dont know man, im definitely not an expert on the subject..

hopefully all is fine in your case...

and im quite interested at the responses, and hopefully answers to this situation that may arise from this post.

[DawsonH]

Yeah freezing probably got them. Look like some sort of roundworms to me. Calling company won't help much, that kind of thing is hard to catch and its not really there fault. See worms in fish all the time.

[aarogb]

    Black Drum is a very wormy fish and I eat them all the time, of course I don't eat the worms though.

     ;D

    The bottom line is that they probably won't hurt you even if you do actually eat one of the worms on accident.  (Or on purpose)

     

[vicdotcom]

Thats pretty crazy never had anythign like that happen =/ you call the company or something or was it a fish you caught?

It was frozen flounder filets. Not one I caught. I called the company and they are contacting the manufactuer now to ask them some of the questions I needed answers to. But it will take a few day.

luckily i spotted them as i was filleting them, and not eating them...

Yea, I get worms once a while when fileting but I take them out LOL I just thought most comapnies would do the same. But I will post when I hear for sure. I just thought someone here might now beforehand.

Yeah freezing probably got them. Look like some sort of roundworms to me. Calling company won't help much, that kind of thing is hard to catch and its not really there fault. See worms in fish all the time.

I know freezing got the worms and the steaming. But sometimes the eggs can survive unless kept at below 0. That was one of my main questions was the freezing temp.

The bottom line is that they probably won't hurt you even if you do actually eat one of the worms on accident. (Or on purpose)

     

Yea I completely agree, but there is alwasy that 1% chance that it can be something worse. I catch fish with worms also but I take them out and cook it really good. I just let my guard down because I assumed the company would do the same. But now I know better lol

Thanks everyone for the help and questions so far.

Vic

[mrlitetackle]

now i must know what brand of frozen fillets they were..........

as they have some QC issues,

and i would personally like to keep my distance.

[central_fl_fishin]

I have caught and eaten quite a few black drum that had worms hen cleaning.  I try and cut them out of the fillets if it's too bad I use em as chum.  I am sure anything bad was killed during cooking.  Never got sick or anything but ya, it's not cool when u see it.  Depends on how much beer you drank before preparing I guess.?

[seyone]

I have seen this a lot in flounder and to a lesser degree with cod from my days working in the restaurant industry. The ones I have seen were usually a little more red in color than those.

[vicdotcom]

now i must know what brand of frozen fillets they were..........

as they have some QC issues,

and i would personally like to keep my distance.

It was Walmart Brand Frozen Flounder Filets.  They are going to give me a call this week so I can ask them some questions about their freezing process.  I am almost sure it is anisakis worms.  I looked at the remainer of the package and i saw another filet with worms visible just under the surface and black eggs.  BAD BAD Walmart!!

I did steam it though, but I have to test to see if the internal temp reaches 140 when steaming.

[DawsonH]

How about 165. Thats the number for raw products, previously frozen or not. 140 is the temp for reheats or holding. Also, wal*mart has nothing to do with what is in that package. Some other company makes the product in the package and when it runs on there packaging equipment it puts it in a Great Value bag. Lots of times it will be the exact same product that another company sells but with a different brand label.

[J Francho]

How about 165. Thats the number for raw products, previously frozen or not. 140 is the temp for reheats or holding. Also, wal*mart has nothing to do with what is in that package. Some other company makes the product in the package and when it runs on there packaging equipment it puts it in a Great Value bag. Lots of times it will be the exact same product that another company sells but with a different brand label.

If you cook my fish to 165°, I'm sending the chunk of cardboard you made back to the kitchen. 165° is for poultry and ground meats.

Here's a nice chart for reference: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/MeatTemperatureChart.htm

As far as the worms go, they are probably some kind of nematode, and harmless. They are probably just 1st ones you've seen after eating thousands of them, if you eat seafood.

[seyone]

How about 165.

As far as the worms go, they are probably some kind of nematode, and harmless. They are probably just 1st ones you've seen after eating thousands of them, if you eat seafood.

Anisakis is a nematode but are harmful to humans and can make you sick.

[J Francho]

How about 165.

As far as the worms go, they are probably some kind of nematode, and harmless. They are probably just 1st ones you've seen after eating thousands of them, if you eat seafood.

Anisakis is a nematode but are harmful to humans and can make you sick.

Flash freezing or heating to 140° kills them.  Unless you are allergic to them...

[J Francho]

Appetizing....

[seyone]

that is a good point, I forgot they were frozen. So other than the stated possible allergic reaction they should pose no threat.

[seyone]

Appetizing....

MMM... making me hungry.

[J Francho]

I'm having second thoughts about my usual Friday night haddock fish fry....

[vicdotcom]

How about 165. Thats the number for raw products, previously frozen or not. 140 is the temp for reheats or holding. Also, wal*mart has nothing to do with what is in that package. Some other company makes the product in the package and when it runs on there packaging equipment it puts it in a Great Value bag. Lots of times it will be the exact same product that another company sells but with a different brand label.

Well 140 is the cooking tem that is needed to kill Anisakis and its larvae. Thats why 140 was the mark. As far as Walmart, it is a Walmart branded item so they are the ones I needed to contact to find the manufacturer. All the package says is "distributed by Walmart" product of *gulp* China. And at $2.50 a pound, I doubt they would have thrown back a wormy fish. I want to purchase another bag just to see how wormy those filets are. But I learned my lesson on frozen fish now! I will be checking every darn inch of them from here out.

Flash freezing or heating to 140° kills them. Unless you are allergic to them...

Yea one of my questions for the manufactuer will be about their freezing and storage process. Apparently if it is Anisakis, they need to be frozen at -4 F for a few days for 100% kill. If frozen at just 20 degrees F then larvae may still survive the process (about 3-10%). So I need to find out exactly how cold the freezers are and how long it was frozen. Walmart freezers are at a near 0 so that helps. But I just want to be sure.

I'm having second thoughts about my usual Friday night haddock fish fry....

Hey as long as its cooked 140 and up its all jus protien  ;D

[DawsonH]

http://www.nsf.org/consumer/newsroom/fact_fs_grilling.asp

Check that for the exacts. Also, 165 will not make something cardboard. At work we cook chicken to 180 and it does not dry it out. Length of time cooked will effect drying out more than temp.

[J Francho]

Thanks for the grilling temp list.  It states 145° F for grilling fresh fin fish.  We're talking about frozen fish.  "Sushi grade" fish is flash frozen as soon as it is processed, right on the boat.  This kills most everything.  Any chef worth his salt should be able to spot nematodes a mile away, and would never serve it to a customer.   My family owns four restaurants; I know a bit about food safety.  You cook a tuna steak to 165° and you'd get fired for ruining expensive meat.

Anyway....I'd be curious about Walmart's response.

[SimonSays]

Any updates? Interesting topic

[vicdotcom]

Ok just got a call back today from the manufacturer manager.  He very nice and informative.  He told me he had a call regarding worms in flounder filets and asked me to tell him the story.  Good listener. He apologized about it and told me that they were probably some sort of nemotode but couldnt positively ID the parasite without seeing it.  Then I told him that I don't mind the worms since I have seen thousands in my time fishing and that I wanted to know their freezing temps, holding times and procedures to ensure that any eggs/larvae were killed.

He was very nice about it again and had all the answers about that without having to look anyhting up.  So the filets are bagged then frozen to -10 F.  They hold it for a minimun of 72 hours but usually are frozen to that temp for weeks or even months during the holding, shipping, and packaging process.  So this would have killed any parasites and their eggs.  I readily agreed and those temps satisfied me.  He also said that Walmart regulates and mandates those temperatures for their fish.  

In the end he was cool about it.  Sent me some free fish coupons. Apologized about the quality control missing those filets and took note to watch out for the future filets.

Having worked in customer service before, he was a real pro at it especially for being a manager.  So I feel satisfied with the response. Ill even pick up another packge and other fish with those coupons to see how wormy those filets are LOL

Thanks for the help and interest everyone! Keep on posting and ill keep following also.

[Micro]

Just a run of the mill nematode.  You've probably eaten some in your life and never known it.  After freezing and cooking, they are dead and harmless.  But they are unappetizing to look at.  That's why fish packers run their fillets over a table with a bright light shining through from the botton - in hopes of seeing these inevitable things.  

I had a friend at work that found one in a piece of salmon he got out of our cafeteria.  While other people marveled ar it, he just ate around it.  He did get a free meal out of it, though.