Philadelphia woman allegedly spots worm in Whole Foods sea bass and skips dinner. Then she goes back, buys more fish, and finds another one.

A Philadelphia woman says she found a worm in a package of Chilean Sea Bass she bought from Whole Foods, according to a TikTok video she posted that has since gained over 277,000 views. The fish was priced at $37.99 per pound, and her package, weighing 0.69 pounds, came out to $26.21 in total. She apparently had planned to cook it for dinner that night.

In the video, TikTok user Cassie Sumfest (@cassiesumfest) filmed the sealed package while sitting in what appears to be her car. The on-screen text read, “Was gonna treat myself to sea bass tonight, but I guess not.” As she zoomed in on the clear plastic packaging, a translucent, reddish-brown worm, appearing to be roughly two to three inches long, was visible moving inside the sealed package.

Sumfest later posted a follow-up video in which she said she went back and bought more fish from Whole Foods, only to find that the second purchase also had worms. She captioned the original video, “Most definitely not eating sea bass tonight.”

Parasites are actually common in wild-caught fish, and producers work to remove them before the fish reaches store shelves

Chilean Sea Bass is a market name for Patagonian toothfish, a species that, like many types of fish, is known to be prone to parasites. According to the CDC, cooking fish to an internal temperature of at least 145°F (around 63°C) is enough to kill parasites. The CDC also says fish can be frozen at -4°F (-20°C) or below for seven days, or at lower temperatures for shorter periods, to achieve the same result.

Even so, many consumers prefer to eat fish raw, or simply do not want to encounter visible parasites when preparing a meal. According to Brobible, producers are aware of this and make considerable efforts to remove parasites from fillets before packaging. Despite those efforts, parasites reportedly remain very common in wild-caught fish. One study found that every single wild-caught salmon surveyed was infected with parasites.

The presence of a worm in a sealed retail package is still enough to alarm most shoppers, even if it does not necessarily indicate that the fish was unsafe to eat when properly cooked. The worm seen in Sumfest’s video appeared to still be moving, though it was not confirmed whether it was alive. She is not the first shopper to raise concerns about a pricey food purchase and end up seeking a refund. 

According to Whole Foods’ stated policy, the company guarantees “100% customer satisfaction on every product we sell,” and says customers can typically exchange a product or receive a refund if it does not meet their standards. 

Viewers who commented on the video had mixed reactions. Some pointed to the nature of wild-caught fish: “If it ain’t farmed, it’s got parasites,” one user wrote. Others noted that the packaging itself indicated the fish had been previously frozen, suggesting the worm may not have posed a health risk: “It says previously frozen so any possible parasites are dead. Obviously off putting but it won’t make you sick,” another commenter said. 

A third kept it simple: “Take it backkkkk.” Not all viral food complaints receive the same sympathetic response, as seen in one case, a woman who accused a restaurant of overcharging her found little support online. 

As of the time of reporting, Sumfest had confirmed receiving a refund for her original purchase. It was not clear whether she sought any resolution regarding the second fish, which she said also contained worms.