Why Don't Japanese Eat Raw Salmon Traditionally? A History of Parasites and Marketing
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4 min read
While raw salmon is a modern sushi favorite worldwide, it was almost completely absent from traditional Japanese cuisine for centuries. The primary reason for this was a well-founded fear of parasites found in wild Pacific salmon, a risk that was historically mitigated by cooking, curing, or salting the fish. A bold marketing campaign, known as "Project Japan," was needed to change this deeply held cultural perspective and introduce raw salmon to the Japanese market.
