Food Safety and Cold Smoked Salmon...Chef JimmyJ

[chef jimmyj]

There has been a lot of discussion on the subject of Cold Smoking Salmon...Whether or not to Brine, Dry Cure, use of Nitrite/Nitrate and so forth. Our members have a strong understanding of Storage temperatures, but Smoking Temperature and Smoking Time has been debated at times...In general most of the Smoking practices here including individual preferences and variations are Safe and provide a Wholesome Product for 99% of us and our loved ones...But...There is a particular "NASTY" that is enough of a concern to our Children, Seniors and Folks with Immune Deficiencies, that it requires some specific understanding. Since the SMF is all about Education...Here you go...

Listeria Monocytogenes or simply "Listeria" and Listeriosis can cause symptoms as minor as Fever, Muscle Aches and sometimes Nausea and Diarrhea or a drastic as Meningitis, and Brain Infections (Encephalitis)...The component of most concern is the amount of time that passes before the Onset of Symptoms...3 to 70 days with 21 days being the average...So much time may have passed since the contaminated Salmon was eaten that no one thinks Listeria is the Problem!  So...Check out these Short Articles and BE SAFE, My Friends...JJ

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/safefood/newsltr/v12n2s02.html

http://www.about-listeria.com/listeria_symptoms_risks

 

[solaryellow]

I have been reading quite a bit about listeria lately due to some future upcoming projects I am considering and it is definitely a nasty bug to acquire. Thanks for the reminder JJ.

 

[alblancher]

If I read the first article correctly brining does nothing to reduce the infection of Listeria in smoked fish.   They recommend freezing the fish for long periods of time before smoke/brining and nitrites to "kill' any potential Listeria infection.  They also talk about safe handling practices both before, during and after to prevent infection.       Guess if I ever get into smoking fish I'll use a nitrite based brine.       

 

[SmokinAl]

I got my lox recipe from bbally. It uses cure#1 it's a dry cure. I see a lot of threads on here where no cure is used & have often wondered how safe it was. He even said you can make lox many ways, but the only way to make sure all the pathogens are killed is with cure. It takes much longer to produce your lox, but in my opinion it's the only way I would do it & feel safe. That being said, I eat raw oysters & sushi all the time! Go figure!

 

[alblancher]

I could see using simple salt brines and smoking if I know how the fish was handled  (fresh wild caught this morning is common down here) and eaten within a couple of days while under refrigeration but I am becoming more and more leary of mass produced foods sourced from all over the world with various food handling requirements.