A TikToker has taken to the platform to declare that Costco’s salmon is safe for raw consumption—claiming it’s an alternative to getting more expensive “sushi-grade” salmon. Commenters, however, aren’t so sure.
The video comes from creator Summer Rachel Warren (@summerrachelwarren), gathering more than 236,000 views in just four days on the platform. In the clip, she and her companion extol the virtues of eating Costco-bought salmon raw, and they do so while talking about what a relative bargain it is.
“Apparently, the regular salmon at Costco—I got a whole bunch—you can eat it like raw sashimi,” she says. “Apparently, restaurant quality!”
@summerrachelwarren ♬ original sound – summerrachelwarren
Warren goes on to sample several pieces in the video, describing it as “super buttery,” and declaring that it “literally tastes like restaurant quality salmon sashimi.” She holds up the styrofoam tray that the salmon came in, noting that it cost just $27 for the whole package—favorable in price to going to a sushi restaurant and trusting professionals.
In the comments section, viewers were skeptical.
One commenter, latching on the creator’s use of the word “apparently,” remarked, “That’s a couple too many apparentlys for me to chance this.”
Another wrote, “‘Apparently’ is absolutely not enough to get me to do this lmao.”
Others warned of the possibility of parasites within salmon that’s not frozen, with one suggesting, “Sams club have sashimi grade salmon” and another pointed to H-Mart for sushi grade fish.
A third user contended, “I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen LIVING worms in Costco salmon.”
According to The Grocery Store Guy, a food blogger who boasts Whole Food credentials, there’s no legal definition of “sushi-grade” to guide consumers.
He does note, “You can eat salmon raw from high-quality grocery stores if it’s been previously frozen. ‘Sushi grade’ doesn’t have a legal definition. It’s simply up to the grocery store to say if something is safe to eat raw. But salmon can contain parasites, so buying previously frozen ensures any parasites are killed.”
Costco management denied the Daily Dot’s request for comment. We also reached out to Warren for more information.
However, Warren’s follow-up video revealed how she fared after consuming the fish.
@summerrachelwarren my whole body is aching
♬ original sound – summerrachelwarren
Posting to TikTok later that day, Warren professed to be “violently ill” and declared in an on-screen caption, “My whole body is aching.”
“I guess I overconsumed too much raw fish the past week,” she assesses in the clip.
She and her companions then proceed to get IV fluids from a company billing itself as “the #1 provider of mobile IV therapy, clinic IV therapy, hangover and vitamin IVs, NAD+ and more in Arizona and California.”
As a commenter wrote in response to the original video, “This didn’t age well.”
