Good To Know - The Rules Around 'Lox' aka Gravlax

March 29, 2022

Lox or gravlax is raw salmon that is ‘cured’ with salt, sugar and herbs - it is not cooked. This is still considered a raw product and if it is wild it must go through parasite destruction, either in-house or by the supplier before you can use it for lox. ‘Atlantic’ salmon is ‘farmed’ salmon. Farmed salmon does not need to go through parasite destruction.

So the question I was asked at this inspection was, is lox considered a ready-to-eat food and when does the 7-day shelf life begin? Yes, lox is considered a ready-to-eat food once the curing is complete. The 7-day shelf life begins when the cured salmon is deemed as 'ready' by the chef. That is day 1. It must be discarded if any is left over after the seventh day.

Also, because it is not cooked to the kill step of 145F, it needs a consumer advisory on the menu or special board.