Can you eat pin bones in Salmon?

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When it comes to questions on food, the diversity is tremendous. Whether it is questions about different recipes, cuisines or if certain parts of different meat and seafood items are safe to eat. Whatever the case may be, one thing is sure, the many varieties of questions have also generated many different answers.

 One particular question people ask that we shall discuss here, is the question of whether the pin bones in Salmon are edible. Come let us explore this query together.

Are Salmon pin bones edible?

With regards to the question of whether or not the pin bones in Salmon can be eaten, we shall approach it in the following way. It has been said that the pin bones in Salmon are soft and flexible and that they are digestible too. That however does not mean that they do not pose a choking hazard.

With this in mind, it is recommended to remove the pin bones in Salmon as well as have it mostly deboned either at home or when purchasing it from a shop if you want to avoid any unforeseen lodging of any Salmon pin bones in your throat.

That being said, always check the Salmon that you purchase for any pin bones even after getting it deboned at purchase just in case there are any pin bones that could still be in your Salmon.

How to remove Salmon Pin bones

We shall now discuss how to remove the pin bones from Salmon through the following table.

The process
1. Run your fingers across the Salmon meat that you’ve purchased (most likely a Salmon fillet).
2. Carefully and slowly identify the pin bones within the flesh of the Salmon by pressing on the Salmon meat.
3. Using a fish bone plier, tweezer or tong (whichever tool you are comfortable with) carefully remove the pin bones within your Salmon meat.

What should you do if you do get a Salmon pin bone stuck in your throat?

If somehow, a Salmon pin bone gets stuck in your throat, the best option is to seek medical attention from a doctor immediately. Do not attempt to dislodge any Salmon pin bone caught in your throat on your own.

Where to buy deboned Salmon

You may now be wondering, where can I go to buy deboned Salmon? To answer that question, you can find deboned Salmon online at places such as Shopee and Pickme.sg. Alternatively, you can purchase deboned Salmon at physical supermarkets that offer deboning services at certain NTUC Fairprice  and Sheng Siong outlets to name a few such supermarket chains. Furthermore, you can also purchase deboned Salmon at grocery stores such as Zairyo or from your local fishmonger at your local  wet market.

Key takeaways

Let us now sum up the key takeaways from our journey together.

  • While Salmon pin bones are supposedly soft and flexible, that does not mean that these bones are not dangerous to consume as they can be potential choking hazards.
  • One way to prevent such choking incidents is by getting  your Salmon deboned at the place you purchase it from. You can do this either at a supermarket, grocery store, online store or with the help of a fishmonger at your local market.
  • An additional way to debone your Salmon and prevent choking incidents from pin bones is to debone it  by feeling for the bones in its flesh and removing them with fish bone pliers, tongs or tweezers.
  • If you do get a Salmon pin bone stuck in your throat, seek medical attention from a doctor immediately.

Some final thoughts

As seen from what we have learnt on our journey together, while Salmon pin bones may be edible, the potential choking risks that come with it make it dangerous to consume. As such it is highly advisable to remove the pin bones in Salmon for your own personal safety.

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