Always pay attention to the use-by date for salmon

Salmon to the party: Pay attention to the consumption date
On holidays, salmon comes roasted, smoked or raw on the table. The noble fish is usually hardly burdened with residues of undesirable substances, have revealed various nationwide research programs. For example, food inspectors found hardly any dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in farmed salmon, and there were no abnormalities in lead, cadmium, mercury and aluminum.

For salmon, always pay attention to the consumption date - otherwise there is a risk of gastrointestinal diseases. Image: Jacek Chabraszewski - fotolia

However, Listeria is still occasionally detected in smoked salmon and pickled salmon, informs the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). The bacteria are widely distributed in the environment and can multiply even at refrigerator temperatures. In 2011, studies on ready-to-eat foods revealed high levels of Listeria monocytogenes - most commonly samples of prepackaged smoked fish or pickled graved fish (1.3%). At the end of shelf life, as expected, germ counts were highest. Shortly before the expiration date, the pathogen was detected in eight percent of smoked fish samples.

In general, infections with Listeria are much less common than with Salmonella and Campylobacter, but the diseases are more severe. Patients can develop a flu infection, severe diarrhea, but also blood poisoning. Pregnant women are at risk of transmitting the infection to the unborn child. Therefore, it is recommended that particularly sensitive persons such as pregnant women, children and the elderly refrain from consuming unprocessed and smoked fish products and graved salmon.

To protect consumers, prepackaged, perishable products are labeled with a use-by date. After this date, they must not be eaten. This distinguishes them from less sensitive foods with a best-before date, which are often still perfect at a later date. The best way to pay attention to freshness and quality when shopping. If the fish is stored refrigerated at home and consumed well before the consumption date, nothing stands in the way of the holiday feast. Heike Kreutz, bzfe.de