Editor's Note - Wild Salmon Quality

I can’t think of a food more iconic to Alaska than salmon. For thousands of years, Alaskan lives have revolved around the salmon life cycle, and many Alaskans draw both nutritional and spiritual strength from our healthy and diverse wild salmon runs. My family, and thousands of others, has long supported itself thanks in part to Alaska's abundant and well managed wild salmon populations. Personally, I'd choose to eat a thick piece of wild Alaska coho above any other food on earth. 

If you've seen recent news about parasites in Alaska salmon, I want to ask you to take a minute and read this post. It's hard to beat a headline about eating parasites, but I’m going to try.

The most important point I want to make, and that you can share with your friends and families, is that eating wild salmon from Alaska is one of the best things you can do for you health, period. You should seek out wild salmon for yourself and your family and eat it twice a week - properly frozen or previously frozen (if you plan to eat it raw or undercooked), fresh (if you can find it & plan to cook it properly), canned, smoked or in something like a pre-made chowder. Properly handled wild salmon is safe to eat! If you need inspiration, there’s no shortage of recipes out there (check out this one over on Set the Net for Wild Salmon Hash and Eggs Benedict). 

You can rest assured that the Alaska salmon that you buy or order at restaurants has been treated in accordance with federal food safety standards. The FDA requires that all seafood is either frozen at -4F for 7 days or cooked to an internal temperature of 140F to effectively kill any parasites.

Like many foods, you should take care with how you process and cook your catch. If you catch and process your own salmon, and like to eat it rare or raw, freeze your catch first for -4F for 7 days.  Cooking your salmon to 140F will do the trick too.

If you have any questions, you can consult this information sheet from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. We hope you continue to celebrate and enjoy Alaska’s amazing wild salmon and take the time to share this information with others.