What Is Ciguatera Poisoning?
The CDC says people can get ciguatera poisoning by eating fish contaminated with toxins produced by tiny algae found around coral reefs, that the toxins do not change the appearance, taste or smell of the fish, and that cooking does not destroy them. Its Yellow Book adds that the toxins are not destroyed by gastric acid or by canning, cooking, freezing, pickling, salting or smoking.
The fish most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning are large carnivorous reef fish such as amberjack, barracuda, grouper, moray eel, sea bass and sturgeon, according to the CDC, which says omnivorous and herbivorous fish such as parrot fish, red snapper and surgeonfish can also be a risk. Hawaii's health department advises not eating the head, guts, liver or roe of any reef fish, and says cooking, drying, salting or freezing does not kill the poison.
The CDC says ciguatera poisoning can cause gastrointestinal, neurologic, neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular symptoms, with the first usually developing within 3 to 6 hours of eating contaminated fish but sometimes delayed up to 30 hours. It says cold allodynia and temperature reversal, where cold items feel hot and hot items feel cold, are characteristic but not always present, and that neurologic features usually last a few days to several weeks but can persist for months or even years.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Government sourceThe CDC says you can get ciguatera poisoning by eating fish contaminated with toxins produced by tiny algae found around coral reefs, and that cooking does not destroy the toxins. CDC, Travelers' Health ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says fish most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning are large carnivorous reef fish such as amberjack, barracuda, grouper, moray eel, sea bass and sturgeon. CDC, Yellow Book ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says ciguatera toxins do not affect the texture, taste or smell of fish and are not destroyed by gastric acid or by canning, cooking, freezing, pickling, salting or smoking. CDC, Yellow Book ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says ciguatera symptoms usually develop within 3 to 6 hours of eating contaminated fish but can be delayed up to 30 hours, and can be gastrointestinal, neurologic, neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular. CDC, Yellow Book ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says cold allodynia and temperature reversal are characteristic of ciguatera but not always present, and neurologic features usually last days to weeks but can persist for months or even years. CDC, Yellow Book ↗
- Government sourceHawaii's health department advises not eating the head, guts, liver or roe of any reef fish, and says cooking, drying, salting or freezing does not kill the poison causing ciguatera fish poisoning. Hawaii State Department of Health ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.