When you’re out at a restaurant, ordering something exotic and new can be tempting, and sometimes that means a new type of fish. After all, who doesn’t love trying something different? However, you should avoid ordering some types of fish, especially if you’re unfamiliar with them. And while the odds are you will be safe, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. This article will look at some different fish types you should never order from a restaurant.
The Safest Fish To Order Anywhere
If you’re looking for the safest fish to order anywhere, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First, it’s important to choose fish that are low in mercury. Mercury is a toxic element that can accumulate in the body and is especially harmful to fetuses, infants, and young children. Fortunately, there are plenty of safe options to choose from. For example, salmon is a delicious and nutritious choice that is also low in mercury.
Other safe options include tilapia, pollock, and haddock. It’s also essential to ensure that the fish you select is cooked correctly. Undercooked or raw fish can contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning. So be sure to order your cooked fish, and you’ll enjoy a safe and healthy meal.
Fish You Should Never Order At A Restaurant
As you just learned, some fish are safer to order than others. But what about the fish you should never order? These are typical fish high in mercury or more likely to be contaminated with bacteria. However, some of these fish made the list due to other reasons, such as the risk of extinction. Here are some fish you should never order from a restaurant.
Shark
There are many reasons why you should never order shark from a restaurant. For one, shark populations are in decline due to overfishing and are slow to reproduce, which means that every shark killed significantly impacts the overall population. Additionally, sharks are caught using cruel and indiscriminate methods, such as longlines and gill nets. These practices kill sharks and other marine animals, including dolphins, turtles, and even seabirds.
Furthermore, the demand for shark fins has led to the practice of finning, in which sharks are caught, and their fins are cut off and thrown back into the water to bleed to death. Finally, shark meat is often highly contaminated with mercury and other toxins. For these reasons, it is best to avoid ordering sharks from a restaurant.
Vietnamese Catfish
When most people think of catfish, they think of the whiskered bottom-dwellers that inhabit freshwater rivers and lakes. However, Vietnamese catfish, or Trai cay, is a type of catfish that is typically farmed in brackish water ponds and then sold to restaurants. Unfortunately, these fish are often in conditions far from ideal, which can pose a severe health risk to consumers.
The FDA has warned that Vietnamese catfish may be contaminated with drugs not approved for use in the United States, and there have been reports of people suffering from severe allergic reactions after eating the fish. In addition, Vietnamese catfish are often mislabeled as other types of fish, making it difficult for consumers to know what they are eating.
