I also thought so but was surprised from the comment in this discussion that the fish looked like as it was never frozen
People on the internet often complain about finding live worms in salmon from Costco/Samâs Club. Wouldnât those be dead if they had been frozen?
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Surprise! I didnât know that! Actually I said something like ânot obviously frozenâ. 
But I didnât assume farmed fish was frozen. I know it can be hard to tell, and that for poultry at least, there are different definitions of âfrozenâ. My market labels some things as previously frozen!
Make sense since True Fish says this was farmed in the Mediterranean! Next time I will see if I can buy it still frozen.
In any case, Iâll say this; this fish looks to be in extremely good shape.
This bit near chin was attached; any ideas about why?
Iâve read freezing for safety against parasites for eating raw at least, entails a very specific process.
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It was fresh salmon from BC that I returned to Costco. The worm popped out to say hello to the clerk who took the return 
Iâve been finding if I remove the skin from the fish before cooking, any live worms are usually hanging out closer to the skin. That said, I still use a thermometer to make sure the internal temp of the fish has reached 145 â°C.
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ugh
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Given the discussion about the branzino from the same place; Truefish
âŚtoday Iâm wondering about this black cod, or this fish labled "Rock Cod - Fillet (Local)",
The rock cod ad goes on to sayâŚ
âFresh daily, this cod has a sweet, almost nutty flavor with firm texture and good flake when cooked.â and âOrigin: Fresh caught daily from the Bay Areaâ , which is where I live. Should I assume it has been frozen and then thawed prior to delivery, or should the word âfreshâ mean never frozen?`If not, I would love to ask that they leave it frozen.
They also have products labeled âfrozenâ, like this âsashimi grade hamachiâ, and those with no indication, like this âsashimi qualityâ, which I guess has been frozen. Iâve emailed that question but got no response.
ETA Or maybe not this piece of sashimi grade salmon that says "fresh never frozen "!
More about labels, from another source.
âFresh sometimes means defrosted. The industry term is ârefreshâ which means it was frozen after being caught, but is then defrosted before selling to the consumer. This is very common, and I see defrosted or re-freshed fish being sold in grocery stores, labeled as fresh all the time. Fishing is seasonal, and all Alaskan fish are caught in the spring, summer or fall. Most fishing is closed in the winter. When I see a sign for âfresh salmonâ in the winter, I know it is really refreshedâ
SighâŚmy plan this time was to just buy the stuff labeled frozen.
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Do they have a customer service phone number?
- Sometimes âsashimi gradeâ items are sold thawed (but generally it is best practice to freeze them at a particular temp and period time because of parasites).
- I would be extremely leery of purchasing a sashimi grade item (at least a fish item, rather than, say, uni) that was not frozen first.
- The branzino may be âfresh caughtâ but stored frozen. I purchase items that were caught fresh here in the New England area from my fish service and they always come frozen.
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Thank you!
Is that the same business as True Fish?
Yes - ABS was the âoverallâ company which had Truefish as their retail shop
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Giovanni in Moro Bay California is having a free shipping in California event.
I had bought these last week, shipped with ice because I wanted it to arrive frozen, and it was.
This time I also ordered with Oysters
, and the fish was not frozen when they arrived! The last is smoked black cod.
I was disappointed that the fish was not frozen, and was writing to the company when I noticed this
"Youâve been issued a refund of $10.00
We do not ship dry ice with live shellfish, we added in extra gel packs in return. Have a wonderful rest of your day!
I wrote
I wondered about that! If I had known, I would have skipped the oysters to receive my fish frozen. How long can I hold the fish before cooking and still have the quality you intended?
Their reply
âNone of the fish included in your order has been frozen prior. If you wish, you can freeze the fish that was shipped and you should not expect any drop in quality of the fish.â
I know folks say everything is previously frozen, but I am going to freeze half of it, and cook the rest as "freshâ.
Nanelle
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thatâs scary some stuff wasnât completely frozen
I am not convinced some tamales I ordered through Goldbelly from the southwest were completely frozen last year. the ones we ate the day they arrived were fine, but the ones I threw into the freezer have little dark spots, and 10 months later, I canât tell if Iâm seeing frozen green chilies peeking through the corn husks or mold.
âŚ.
Would you buy from Giovanniâs again , or is this enough to not buy from them for you ?
âŚ..
I am not sure if they freeze oysters where both shells are still attached
I have seen half shell oysters frozen in vacuum packs, and I have seen refrigerated oysters.
I think any oysters that have their shells on are generally shipped alive.
I wouldnât buy live oysters through the mail or Internet unless it was a local fishmonger up here in Canada. If they donât get enough air in transit, they can die.
I have even had problems with live oysters dying on me within 6 hours of buying them . I keep them on ice in a bowl in the fridge until Iâm ready to shuck them by
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Were they cold?
Yes; there were ice packs, although they were thawed.
@Phoenikia yes; I have been very happy with their products. The first shipment was frozen solid. The second shipment looked like others that have been labeled âfresh fishâ by companies in California (Giovanni and True Fish) , and I have enjoyed them, often raw. .
ETA I have gotten live oysters shipped several times before, and wondered briefly how live oysters and frozen fish was going to work.
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Okay, good!
I had let my friend know about the sale!
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There are always sales, but the free shipping in California may be over (I ordered last Thursday I think). If she gets on the email list, she can snag it next time.
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thanks!
