Costco Shopper Says She Found Parasites in Kirkland Salmon: "Traumatized"
She took to TikTok to show off her "disgusting" discovery, but experts say parasites are normal.
Salmon stands out as one of the healthiest fish you can buy: High in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and protein, it's often recommended by nutritionists and other health experts. But a shopper who regularly buys her salmon from Costco said she made a questionable discovery about a recent purchase. In a May 23 video, TikTok user Sav (@saviibaaby) told viewers that she found parasites in her Kirkland Signature Wild Caught Alaska Sockeye Salmon.
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At the beginning of the video, Sav explains that she'd seen another social media user post about parasites in some Costco salmon, which she happened to have in her freezer.
"So I thought after that video, I would just do a little research—I did do way too much research, and I found way too many things that I did not want to know about the Costco salmon," Sav says in the video.
Sav explains that she had bought the salmon fresh, and assumed that she wouldn't find parasites. But when she removed it from the freezer and thawed it out, she made her unpleasant discovery.
"I wasn't going to eat it if there was a parasite in it—and I wanted to make sure that there was no parasites, so I was like, why not just look?" Sav recalls. "I was gonna give it a chance. I love Costco salmon, I eat it all the time. People are also saying, 'Oh, the freezer kills it'—I don't want a parasite in my stomach. God only knows what's going on down there. I don't want to add to the fun stuff."
To Sav's dismay, she found "an entire glob of parasites in my salmon." In the video, she films one of the fillets, showing a "white little pocket" that then reveals a thin "parasite."
The TikToker has called on Costco for an explanation, saying she "wasted her money" on the salmon and was "TRAUMATIZED, to say the absolute least." In the video, Sav also says she isn't sure why Costco still had the fish for sale and asked her viewers to check their freezers for the specific salmon or other fish products.
"I will never be eating this ever again, let alone maybe fish, for quite a long time after what I just found out," Sav tells her viewers.
RELATED: Walmart Shoppers Slam More Great Value Produce: "Check Your Corn."
Sav's concerns are understandable, but the truth is that the presence of parasites in salmon is not a Kirkland-specific problem. According to the Seafood Health Facts, all living organisms, including fish, can have parasites. The agency compares parasites in fish to insects found in fruits and vegetables.
The parasites don't pose a health concern in cooked fish. But as with the potential dangers of eating raw or undercooked meat, consuming raw or undercooked fish with parasites can pose risks.
When preparing raw dishes like sashimi, sushi, ceviche, and gravlax, Seafood Health Facts recommends using "commercially frozen fish" or freezing fish to a certain temperature "to kill any parasite that may be present." (However, the agency also warns that some home freezers don't reach a low enough temperature to kill parasites.)
In the comment section of Sav's video, several TikTokers tried to alleviate fears, echoing Seafood Health Facts by pointing out that most fish have worms in them.
"It's not Costco's fault lol there is always parasites in salmon," a comment reads.
"Only way to avoid this unfortunately is to not eat fish," another commenter wrote. "I had to stop eating salmon [because] it freaked me out too much."
Yet another said that they are an "Alaska girl" and would still eat the Costco fish. "That's why we freeze it and cook it. I wouldn't touch farmed salmon," the comment reads.
Others recommended that Sav take the fish back to Costco for a refund. Best Life reached out to Costco for comment, and will update the story with its response.
