The Daily Insight

Connected.Informed.Engaged.

updates

Can You Eat Fish Scales?

Writer Sarah Silva

If you’re wanting to reduce your workload, you might be asking if you can eat fish scales. You can, in a nutshell, answer yes to the question. You can consume the fish scales without causing yourself any harm. Minerals and good fats can be found in the scales of fish.

Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Aro... Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around

If you’re thinking about skipping a step in washing that fish for dinner and leaving the scales on, you’re not in for a treat. Consider what it’s like to consume popcorn and have a bit of kernel stuck in your teeth. Isn’t it aggravating?

Consider that each taste of popcorn has about 7 or 8 kernels. That’s how it feels like to eat fish scales. Getting a single popcorn kernel wedged between your teeth is aggravating enough. Imagine eating a meal where something hard got lodged in your teeth with each mouthful. Some individuals avoid eating fish skin because they believe it is harmful, however this is rarely the case.

For millennia, fish skin has been consumed safely. In many places and civilizations, it’s even a popular food.

If a fish’s skin has been well washed and the outer scales have been removed, it is usually safe to eat.

Some fish, on the other hand, contain significant levels of mercury as well as other poisons and pollutants, all of which can be found in the skin.

As a result, low-mercury fish should be eaten more frequently than high-mercury fish. Here are a few examples of fish that have high mercury levels:

  • Mercury levels are minimal in catfish, cod, flounder, Pollock, salmon, tilapia, and most tinned tunas. Carp, grouper, halibut, mahi-mahi, and snapper are among the medium-sized fish.
  • Extremely high: king mackerel, marlin, shark, swordfish, and tilefish

In short, there are no health concerns associated with eating fish skin that are greater than those associated with eating fish flesh. When selecting fish skin, follow the same rules you would when selecting fish to eat.