Hi. I bought a whole salmon 4 days ago. It sat in my fridge until
today. So today I opened it. It smelled very fishy, and I thought for
2 seconds about throwing it out. But I hate throwing out food. So I
rinsed
it for a few minutes in the sink, cut it into three sections, rinsed it
again, froze two sections and cooked the third. I do this all the time
(usually 2 days after buying it, not 4)
but the fish tasted funny this time, very metallic-like. I stopped
eating it and tried to google about bad fish. Nothing. By then I was
so hungry I ate half of it. Should I brace myself for a vomit-fest?
The best before date on
the package was marked today. So should I not eat the frozen parts? I
know from experience its bad to freeze if-y chicken (I did this many
times). Should I toss the frozenb stuff? Should I not eat any more of
the cooked fish? How sick could I
get? Diarrhea? Cramps? Vomiting? I wish I froze it sooner.

One last note: I don't have a sensitive digestive system. I eat things
most people can't. So I air of the side of culinary risk. But I've
eaten bad chicken (self-induced) and had severe cramps. That was the
worst it got.

All the charts about keeping fresh salmon in the refrigerator indicate
that you should use it in 1-2 days. Fatty fish like salmon especially
should be used or frozen promptly. The "fishy" smell indicates that
the fish has started to break down and decay. If it's turning mushy as
well is also an indicator. The description you gave indicates that the
fish might have started to spoil. Why take the risk of making yourself
sick? Throw it out.

Hi, yes I read the same informatiopn, salmon is to be eaten within 1-2
days after refrigeration. And the fish had all the tell-tale signs of
fish going off, it was smelly, mucus-like (but the flesh was not that
mushy) and the eyes were pale and cloudy. However, I ate the fish and
I am happy to say that I am fine, no side-effects whatsoever. So
either the rinsing helped or I have a stainless steel stomach. Or I
was lucky. Or all of the above.

When I posted the question I was mostly interested in knowing more
about the breakdown of salmon because a fish is not 'good' on day 2
but 'bad' on day 3 and 'fatal if eaten' on day 4. There is always a
deterioration of meat. I did find some information mentioning the
metallic taste and evolution of decomposition, but alas only the taste
was off. I may heed your advice and not eat the frozen filets though,
but I will at least cook them for my dog/cat.

Like other creatures, salmon go through life with lots of bacteria on
their bodies. Because salmon live in cold water, their bacterial
hitch-hikers are quite happy in the cold. So when you put salmon in
the refrigerator, bacterial growth doesn't even slow down. This is why
fish generally "goes bad" faster than say, meat.
To avoid the enormous bacterial load from fish, you must eat it
immediately or freeze it. Freezing at -10 celsius will halt or at
least severely slow the bacterial growth.