You might not be too thrilled with this news if you love eating seafood. Binh Nguyen of Spartanburg, South Carolina, posted a Facebook video of a live worm inside a fish purchase at his local Costco store, Yahoo News reported.
As shown in the video, a package of Kirkland "Fresh Wild Pacific True Cod" seems to have a live, wriggling, orange worm inside it.
"Look carefully when buying 'fresh' fishes at local Costco or you will find this!!! I'm quitting sushi for now lol. This vid was taken few days ago at Costco Store in Spartanburg SC btw," Binh wrote under the video.
The video, posted on March 14, has already gone viral with 27,000 sharing it. (Watch here.)
Costco executives were questioned about viewers concerns on food safety by WSPA 7 On Your Side.
"They spoke to Craig Wilson, the Costco Vice President of Quality Assurance and Food Safety, who confirmed that the nematode, or parasitic roundworm, was found in the Kirkland package of wild pacific cod earlier this month," according to Yahoo News.
The package of cod seen in the video was not sold. In order to make the same mistake in the future, the inspection process is being reviewed carefully, Wilson said.
Cod, like other groundfish, are prone to nematodes, Wilson said.
"Although it's quite frankly disgusting, I wish I could tell you that it was very, very uncommon," Wilson said.
However, the fish is cooked thoroughly and the nematodes are not dangerous. Specific people are also assigned to keep the parasites out of the seafood, Wilson said.
'Candling is a process where the fish are laid out on a lit table and inspected. Wilson said, "Around these conveyor tables are employees of the seafood company that are doing nothing but looking for parasites."
It's not often that parasites are missed out by the inspectors. But even if they are, Wilson emphasized that, "Typically these parasites don't represent a health problem at all, unless people are eating raw cod."
