Millions of people try new food every day, but one thing many people haven't tried is sushi.
Although it's been around for decades since the 1960s, it's only the last 10 or 15 years that it has become wildly popular in the United States.
However, for one South Korean man, sushi is the food that nearly cost him his life.
Sushi is made up several components, but the fish part of sushi is never cooked, so if you eat it, you know you're eating raw meat.
You've likely been told since you were a kid that eating raw meat can be dangerous. Raw meat can be contaminated with bacteria that can result in severe food born illness.
That's exactly what happened to this man. He'd eaten sushi thousands of times and never got sick once.
But one day, after an evening of eating sushi, he began forming blisters and bruises on his hand and arm.
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Just 12 hours after eating the contaminated sushi, his hand had swollen so much it began to leak.
He rushed to the doctor knowing that something was horribly wrong.
As soon as he told the doctor he'd eaten sushi, they knew immediately that the man was suffering from a flesh-eating bacteria infection.
The doctor drained the blisters and carefully pulled away as much of the infected tissue as possible, but despite their efforts, the man ended up losing his hand because of the contaminated sushi.
The man finally had to undergo surgery nearly a month after eating the fateful sushi and is now having to learn how to live without a left hand and forearm at the age of 71.
With sushi popularity still on the rise, it is important to hear stories like this to ensure that what you're eating is safe.
Be sure to share this story with your family and friends so they can be reminded to take precaution as well.
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In Canada at least, all raw fish used in sushi must be frozen first to kill such bacteria that may be present. I would never want to eat raw fish without it having been frozen first.
Freezing preserves bacteria. It does not destroy them. As soon as the fish thaws growth multiplies.
Correct, bacteria are mostly immune to freezing.
I believe that they (sometimes) deep freeze the fish for at least two weeks to kill worms and liver fluke larvae, but not the bacteria. The latter are very hardy and can withstand very low temperatures for months or even years! But there’s no practical way of telling whether the fish has been previously frozen or not. I wouldn’t eat sushi if you paid me!
Saltwater shellfish can contain dangerous bacteria, but not fish, it’s the shellfish and Freshwater fish that are unwise to eat in sushi.
the only thing I do with raw fish is fish with it I am not going to any raw meat at all to much chance to get sick with the way everything is raised
Even saltwater fish can still contain worms and liver flukes. Those worms will then start to reproduce and multiply and could eventually infest your entire body. Once a liver fluke gets inside you, it heads for your liver to feed and reproduce, and that often results in a liver abcess which can make you very sick and will require hospitalization and surgery to drain and remove.
There’s also no way to know if the fish that they used is freshwater or saltwater in origin. You can still risk eating raw fish if you feel lucky, but I wouldn’t personally recommend taking that chance!
People who eat raw fish have sushi for brains!