The testing was commissioned by rabbis from the Orthodox Union, who were concerned about the nematodes that they found in cans of sardines. This was not because of the nematodes’ general unsavoriness, but because their presence in the cans might mean that the sardines’ muscle was allowed to mix into their intestines, which would render the whole food preparation unkosher.
All of this to say that yes, canned sardines are kosher. Now we can smear them on toast and eat them without any more worries, while trying to forget about the small white worms nestled among them.
This article from the Village Voice Archive was posted on February 14, 2012