How long does sushi last?

If you didn’t grow up eating sushi, we’re sorry. But we hope you will experience this incredible culinary creation. If you manage to get a good batch, the sushi is refreshing, flavorful, and leaves you feeling full and satisfied, yet wanting more.

However, one bad batch can leave you hanging over a cube for hours, wishing you could curse the person who invented it. Luckily, the most common reason people get sick from sushi is when it’s past its shelf life.

So how long is sushi good for? It depends on the type of sushi, but typically sushi will last up to four days in the fridge, as long as it’s stored properly and it’s a fresh batch made with fresh ingredients.

Let’s look at the different types of sushi, the ingredients that are used, and how that affects the duration of the sushi. We’ll also look at how you should store sushi and how to recognize sushi that has gone bad.

types of sushi

Sushi is one of the oldest and greatest inventions in the culinary world. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s more of a food category than a specific dish with a certain recipe, just like pasta is a very broad category of dishes and recipes.

Sushi is a Japanese seafood dish that consists of many different components and combinations thereof to create beautiful, bite-sized pieces of fresh produce and flavors.

These pieces are very colorful and a feast for the eyes and the palate. Sushi is traditionally served with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce to add additional, albeit optional, flavor.

The ingredients that are used very frequently to make sushi are

• Sushi rice, which is sticky, short-grain or medium-vinegar rice.
• Fish , including but not limited to salmon, yellowtail, tuna, mackerel, and amberjack. Other types of shellfish used are squid, imitation crab, lobster, and prawns.
• Other Fresh Ingredients – Vegetables and fruits such as avocado, cucumbers, daikon radishes, and even mango are often used.
• Some form of dried seaweed or nori that helps bind the sushi roll together.

Some sushi pieces are also served with a sushi mayonnaise, Asian dressing, or traditional soy sauce, and also have additional garnishes such as sesame seeds or roe (fish eggs).

All of these ingredients can be used to make many traditional sushi pieces, as well as create exciting new combinations.

The most common types of sushi that are sold almost everywhere are Nigiri, Maki, Uramaki, Temaki, Sashimi, and Tempura rolls. This all sounds very fancy and strange, but basically it just describes different combinations and preparation methods of the ingredients.

What affects the shelf life of sushi?

Since sushi and all its related dishes are primarily made up of fresh ingredients , there are two main aspects that affect shelf life.

When working with fish, it is especially important to know the factors that will affect its shelf life:

The freshness of the ingredients

Any type of product, whether meat or vegetable, will have a much shorter shelf life when it is prepared for use in something else. As soon as any protective layer is removed, the clock starts ticking.

In the case of shellfish (meats), it starts as soon as the fish or crustacean is caught .

By the time it arrives at the store to be processed into different cuts, considerable time has passed. It has lost most of its protection (its skin) against environmental factors.

Once the portions are cut, they are still stored before reaching the sushi bar.

Many servings of fish are also frozen to prevent expiration early. However, this does not necessarily preserve the flavor of the fresh fish. As soon as the piece is thawed, you have a day or two to use it.

The exception, of course, are restaurants that only use freshly caught fish to make their sushi and also make it to order.

Plant-based ingredients have a much longer shelf life than fish . They usually only break down drastically when the outer protective layer is removed.

The different ingredients have a different shelf life and it is important to know each of the components to have the safest possible product.

Cold chain

The cold chain is an extremely important factor that will affect the overall shelf life of the product. The cold chain is the chain, or sequence, of managing perishable foods in cold conditions.

If the chain is not broken, food stays cold and is less likely to suffer. If food is not stored at the proper temperatures, especially shellfish, you can risk accelerating spoilage.

From start to finish, sushi must be kept in cold conditions. Keeping it fully refrigerated is even better, to eliminate all possible risks.

How to preserve sushi

If you prepare your own sushi at home, it is very important to pay attention to the cold chain. Any ingredient that can go bad quickly (and cause major health problems) should be kept in the fridge for as long as possible.

Once you’ve made your sushi or purchased it from a reputable restaurant, you can store any leftover sushi in the fridge. All you have to do is wrap all the sushi pieces well in saran paper or plastic wrap before placing them in an airtight container.

If your sushi doesn’t taste super fresh when you eat it, don’t bother wrapping it for later: you’re taking too big a risk doing so.

Can sushi be refrigerated?

Refrigeration is definitely a must when it comes to sushi, bar none. Sushi should be stored in the refrigerator, as we have mentioned above. In no case should it be left out to eat later.

Otherwise, any ingredient that has been processed and touched by people is at very high risk of developing harmful and even deadly bacteria.

You should never eat fish that has been out of the cold chain (not refrigerated) for more than 4 hours . This is a very important rule, as fish carries many health risks, especially when eaten raw.

How to keep sushi fresh overnight?

You can keep the sushi until the next day using the method mentioned above. Just wrap the leftover sushi pieces in saran paper and place them in an airtight container in the fridge.

Sushi should be eaten or thrown away the next day if you are not sure of its quality.

Can sushi be frozen?

It is possible to freeze the sushi, but we do not recommend it at all.

One of the main reasons is that the texture of the sushi will change drastically. When thawing rice there are also health risks and the texture will become very mushy and unappetizing.

The same goes for ingredients like seaweed (or nori) and cucumber. These are ingredients that cannot be subjected to a freezing process.

Another important factor to consider is how the sushi has been made. You must be careful when freezing cooked fish or shellfish, as well as cooked vegetables.

As a general rule, never freeze store-bought sushi. You have no idea how long the ingredients have lasted, how many hands they have gone through and the quality of it.

If you are making sushi at home, and you have a certain ingredient left over, do not use all of it to make the sushi. Instead, freeze any leftover ingredients separately so you can use them later to make fresh, new sushi.

How long does the sushi last?

As we have said before, there are many factors that must be taken into account to determine the duration of the sushi. Different types of sushi will last for different lengths of time.

If the sushi is made fresh, with freshly caught fish and freshly made and processed items, it will last up to 4 days if properly stored in the fridge.

Any sushi that contains cooked ingredients must be eaten within 24 hours (but only if it has been refrigerated).

Store-bought sushi, regardless of the expiration date on the packaging, should be eaten immediately and any leftovers should be thrown away . Better safe than sorry.

How long does sushi rice last?

Sushi rice on its own can last up to 5 days if stored properly. Rice also has a ton of health risks associated with it. So use this guide to determine if it’s still good.

You can make the sushi rice a day in advance to reduce some of the work needed to make the sushi the next day.

How do you know if the sushi has gone bad?

There are many ways to identify sushi that has gone bad. We will review the most obvious:

View

Take a look at each ingredient in a piece of sushi to see if it looks “right.”

The vegetables and fruits used in the piece should still appear fresh and crisp. Some fruits, like avocado, may have discolored, but if they are still intact and not slimy, they should still taste good.

The rice should still have some structure. It should not be discolored or fall apart. Sushi rice is meant to hold everything together on the roll, so if it doesn’t anymore, you should discard the piece (or perhaps the whole roll).

The most important thing is that the fish still looks fresh. If the meat breaks or falls apart, it means that the internal structure of the tissue is breaking down. It is no longer fresh enough to be safely consumed.

If there is any form of slime or a milky discharge on the meat of the fish, it is past its expiration date.

The last sign to look for in fish is its color. If the color has become pale or dull, you should not risk it either.

Smell

Your nose is an amazing organ, as it can easily distinguish fresh from not-so-fresh produce.

If you smell the piece of sushi as a whole, any acid or sour smell is an indication that something is wrong. Now, we are not talking about obvious acid odors, such as when lemons or vinegar are used, but about any unrecognizable or fetid odor.

If you smell the fish on its own and it smells strongly of fish (and not of a balanced flavor sushi roll), it is no longer safe to eat. Fresh fish should not have any strong odor and should only smell like seawater, normally.

Other ingredients may also give off putrid odors. That’s a big clue that you shouldn’t eat the sushi.

As always, if you’re not sure if it’s gone bad, follow our expiration period. Sushi is not safe to eat 4 days after it is made.

Don’t just follow expiration dates on store-bought sush. Use your intuition and the knowledge you’ve learned today to determine if it’s still consumable. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.

Health risks

Consuming raw fish carries many health risks. Some restaurants have been found to use poisonous fish that cause digestive problems or even hallucinations.

Make sure you know what fish you are eating and that it is safe to eat. Whenever possible, make sure you know where the fish comes from and if it has been sourced sustainably.

Other health risks associated with raw fish are the risk of salmonella or tapeworms.

Salmonella is a foodborne disease that occurs due to poor hygiene in the handling of food products, including fish. It can also get into fish if exposed to contaminated water.

When people talk about food poisoning, they are actually referring to salmonella poisoning . Severe diarrhea, vomiting, headaches, fever, and/or chills may occur.

Listeria is another harmful bacterium often found in raw fish that causes the same type of illness as salmonella, but worse.

Tapeworms are a parasite found in fish that feed on the nutrients and energy of their hosts. When you eat raw or undercooked fish that contains tapeworms, it can lead to some serious problems.

Tapeworms can cause you to lose a lot of weight, cause diarrhea, vomiting, and malnutrition. This is extremely dangerous. That is why it is very important that you only buy fish and sushi from trusted suppliers and restaurants.

Another risk, unlikely but very possible, is mercury poisoning.

If you eat large amounts of ocean fish (such as tuna and yellowtail), you could be consuming too much mercury. Mercury poisoning causes memory loss and muscle problems, such as spasms and loss of use. Be sure to balance your diet.

Excessive consumption of sushi rice could also cause spikes in your blood sugar and insulin levels. This can be risky for diabetics.

Now, all of these risks may seem scary, and sushi may even turn you off completely. But remember that sushi is perfectly safe if you act responsibly and stock up carefully.

Only purchase ingredients or sushi from reputable suppliers and restaurants, and make sure you are aware of all the signs that sushi is unsafe.

Never risk eating raw fish, no matter how much you have paid for it or however much you crave. Wasted food is always a nuisance, but food poisoning is much worse. It won’t be worth it when you end up in the hospital.

Lastly, always look for sushi at restaurants that use sustainable and ethically sourced products and production methods. If they have those qualities, you know that their attention to safe food handling and storage will probably measure up.