The appropriation of sushi and sashimi for this purpose makes sense, since many Americans eat raw fish primarily in Japanese restaurants. It’s the “grade” portion that is entirely misleading. There is no national governing body that grades fish in the same way that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grades beef. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues advisory guidelines that sketch out processes for handling a variety of fish meant for raw consumption, those guidelines are not intended to determine the quality of the fish in the way marbling determines the quality of beef—only its relative safety for eating raw. So when you see a piece of fish labeled sushi- or sashimi-grade, that means that the seller has judged it safe to eat raw. The claim is only as trustworthy as the fish market that makes it. Because some infections are asymptomatic, and many are thought to go unreported, the risk of infection may be greater than statistics suggest. On a less scientific level, worms—particularly parasitic worms—inhabit dark recesses of our collective imagination.
