Fish with 'extras'

[MotherBear]

And I was so looking forward to a nice fish and chips when I arrive in March.

Kiwi fish found to be worm-laden
By BECK ELEVEN - The Press | Tuesday, 9 January 2007

Fish in New Zealand waters are riddled with parasites, Danish research shows.
Initial results from a worldwide marine survey will be unsettling for fans of raw fish-based food such as sashimi and sushi.

Danish scientist Kurt Buchmann is researching the types and amounts of parasites found in fish. "I have to be frank and say it is not a good idea to eat raw fish unless it has been frozen at less than -20deg for more than 24 hours. Otherwise, you must cook, fry or hot-smoke it," he said.

Buchmann said fish from the Solomon Islands to New Zealand were "heavily infected" with tapeworm, roundworm and various "unidentified worms". The work would look at how immune systems of fish responded to various parasites.

"The final host for the worms are whales. The atom worms inside the stomach of the whale liberate eggs which will infect crustaceans, then fish and finally whales at the other end of the food chain," he said.

The Danish research expedition, Galathea 3, takes place on a customised navy frigate sailing around the world over eight months to April. The ship carries 50 naval officers and nearly as many scientists. Danish scientist Jan Christensen is analysing fish as an indicator of the amount of oil pollution that can be found in oceans.

Bile extracted from fish near Copenhagen showed a high level of pollution, while those caught in clean Arctic waters off Greenland had only slightly lower levels than New Zealand fish. "So good news for New Zealand," he said.

John Holdsworth, of Blue Water Marine Research Ltd, rubbished the claims, saying parasites lived in the fish guts rather than the flesh. "Japanese people have been eating raw fish for years. They wouldn't be doing that if it were that bad."

[Glenda]

Mother Bear, don't panic!

It is just the NZ media running out of subjects to report on again. You, me and millions of others have been eating worm-infected fish for years -

Round worms, or nematodes, in larval form are found in the guts and in the flesh of many fish marketed in the United Kingdom; two kinds predominate, the 'cod worm' and the 'herring worm'.

The 'cod worm', which is often found in cod, is also found in many other species. Its scientific name is Phocanema decipiens; other outdated scientific names are Porrocaecum decipiens or Terranova decipiens. It grows up to 4 cm long in fish, and varies in colour from creamy white to dark brown. It is frequently found in the flesh of fish, particularly in the belly flaps, where it often remains for long periods curled up and encased in a sac-like membrane produced by the fish tissue.

(From http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5951e/x5951e01.htm)

[smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

[MotherBear]

?You, me and millions of others have been eating worm-infected fish for years

Doesn't make me feel any better to know that though. Bleh! It's one of those things where 'Ignorance is bliss' applies.

It is frequently found in the flesh of fish, particularly in the belly flaps, where it often remains for long periods curled up and encased in a sac-like membrane produced by the fish tissue.

Doesn't have much of a social life, does it?

[Glenda]

Doesn't have much of a social life, does it?

[smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

If you read that link I gave you will see that a worm starts its life as an egg in the intestine of a seal, dolphin or similar animal, is excreted into the sea, eaten by smaller creatures which are then themselves eaten by larger fish, and so on.

Fortunately, most worms are removed in the gutting process, but those that escape are quickly killed by cooking. ? Puts one off sushi though! ?

:)

Luckily I dont like fish, but we were a bit sickened to find out that cheese was made with cow guts! Can't remember the exact bit, but it's something to do with the 'enzymes' listed in the ingredients. Blah!

We buy vegitarian cheese now, which isn't much different in price.

[MotherBear]

I think I can handle enzymes from cows' guts, but worms are a different kettle of fish. No pun intended although I thought it was a good one. ;D

Does vegetarian cheese still have a good, strong cheesy flavour? Sounds like it could be a bit bland.

[Welshgirl]

No, vegetarian cheese is not bland at all, it's delicious! We ate it at our friends house recently and didn't even realise it!

[MotherBear]

I read on here that rennet, which is the stuff that comes from calves' and other animals' stomachs, can be artificially manufactured now, so hopefully not all cheese is made the original way nowadays or maybe that's what they're using in the vegetarian cheese. I do wonder though, how you can have 'vegetarian' cheese when cheese is basically made from milk. Must look it up.

In this article it states that some of the stomachs from which the rennet comes are a by-product of veal production so it looks like the poor calves involved have a double whammy. :'(