And we have a new winner! As is usual, on the first auction for the new year at the Tsukiji fish market, a new record was set for the most expensive tuna sold. Selling for $736,000 (56.49 million Yen), the 593 pound (269 kilogram) bluefin tuna came out around $1,238 per pound. That price likely does not reflect real market prices, which are still quite high, but more the celebratory feeling that permeates the Tsukiji fish market on the first auction day of the year.

Every year, a new record seems to be set for the bluefin tuna, which should come as no surprise as these fish are becoming more and more scarce every year. While the fish has already been prepared and sold as nigiri sushi and sashimi for under cost (no doubt as 1 piece would normally have have retailed for $96 per, if you do the math on the size of the fish), there will be more to come. But doubtfully not at the same incredible price.

Atlantic and Pacific Bluefin tuna are primarily eaten in japan (which purchases about 80% of the global catch of these species). They face growing calls to reduce their catches due to the incredible decline in the number of bluefin tuna in the oceans over the past 25 years. Probably every year for a few more I will be able to make a post like this, but there will come a time, when the fish are commercially extinct, when I won’t. And that will be a sad day.

икони цениNow that I have added the yellowtail and scallion roll to the sushi recipes section of the site, I’ve included the calorie and nutritional information (including Weight Watchers plus points) in the calories in sushi section of the site as well. If any of you love yellowtail rolls as much as I do, then peek away!

This is my favorite roll and after making some the other day I couldn’t help but add it to the site, a long overdue act.

Just eating fish is not enough, apparently. Studies show that the omega 3 benefit from different fish is not the same, and some fish high in omega 3 fatty acids aren’t as beneficial as other fish high in omega 3s. So if you are looking for your daily DHA boost, some fish offer higher quality bio availability omega 3 fatty acids than others. From the Omega 3 FAQ, here is a post that describes the source of omega 3 fatty acids.

Due to the load of spam that was insurmountable, I had to take down the sushi-ya-pedia. But the good news is that I’m working on a much, much better version now. It will allow anyone to search for sushi restaurants anywhere in the world (in theory) and comment, rate, and generally discuss how they feel after visiting one. Maps, directions, reviews, everything you might get in a million places, yes, but since it will be attended by sushi aficionados (why else would you visit sushifaq.com) you know the information will be spot on. Stay tuned, it’s a lot of work, but it will be worth it!

Well, we’ve launched the new design for The Sushi FAQ. While it’s not 100% complete, we’re trying to make it more reader friendly and we’re adding more and more content now as time goes on. So everybody please come and visit, and drop us a line to tell us what you think!

The Sushi FAQ

We’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks re-designing the entire sushifaq.com website and we launched the almost complete version last night. We’d love to hear what people think. In addition to making it more navigation friendly we are trying to add new features as well, and hopefully you will also see the launch of our new sushi-ya-pedia, the online sushi restaurant locator with reviews.

So please be patient with us as we continue to fix any bugs and tweak pages, and keep watching for new features as we launch them.

Cheers!

Warren
wembaster

http://www.sushifaq.com

Yep, the Vegan Black Metal Chef is out with another video, and this time it’s one of my favorites, sushi! The language is definitely adult, so if you would rather avoid cursing, don’t watch the video, but The Chef actually has cooking skills and when it’s sushi, I can’t stay away.

 

Sustainable Seafood

A few days ago McDonald’s announced that, under an agreement with the Marine Stewardship Council, they would be serving sustainable seafood in their fish sandwiches in Europe soon. While I have never been a fan of processed food and corporations who value profits over people, this is certainly a step in the right direction. Europeans are, by nature, much more concerned than Americans about food sustainability and other environmental issues, hence the pilot program for sustainable seafood beginning there. It would be nice if the idea caught on and spread globally to all restaurants, including sushi restaurants, as with some pelagic species being fished to near extinction, following a program of sustainable seafood may be the only way to keep sushi and other seafood dishes on our plates.

Interestingly, Wal-Mart also has a plan to require all if it’s seafood suppliers to their stores, as well as their Sam’s Club stores, to obtain certification from the MSC for their products, and Costco, Korger, and Supervalu are also jumping on the bandwagon. While this is a pleasant step in the right direction for sustainable seafood, many organizations take issue with the MSC and their certification practices, as they still allow certain types of seafood harvesting including trawling of the seafloor, which is very destructive, and there are some venues that refuse to work with them due to their allowing certain practices to remain in place, which can destroy the seabeds, even if catches are limited and monitored.

Ultimately, while this seems like a good idea for corporate interests, and possibly for the longevity of the many pelagic species, this is just a blip in the radar in the drive for sustainable seafood. It’s great marketing for the aforementioned corporations, though. If we want to save our most revered seafood species, the onus is truly on the consumer as our seafood choices are more important than we realize. If we continue to eat threatened species, they will be with us no longer, so the only way change will ever happen is is we vote with our wallets and refuse to eat the fish that are considered endangered.

Sustainable seafood is not an impossible dream, and organizations such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium are working to educate consumers as to which seafood choices are the best to make when fish is on the menu. Wild caught, fish farming, and conservation are among the many topics that must be continually reviewed to determine the sustainability of the seafood market, and if future generations want to enjoy sushi, a sea change is needed in the way we view our ocean herds. Make a difference yourself when you go out for sushi and educate yourself to ensure that you are part of the sustainable seafood solution, rather than part of the problem.

I just wanted to pass along a little information I received recently. Apparently six people became ill with Vibrio parahaemolytics from raw oyster consumption in the source state, Washington. The raw oysters were distributed to 11 other states and five countries (Canada, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand). No other illnesses have been reported. Guidance for safe consumer consumption of fully cooked oysters is included.

FDA Expands Warning on Eating Raw Oysters
Media Inquiries: Michael Herndon, 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

Additional Growing Area Linked to Illness Outbreaks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat raw oysters harvested from an additional part (growing area 5) of the southern tip of Hood Canal in Washington state due to a foodborne illness outbreak caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria. This follows an earlier outbreak and August 10 warning about oysters harvested from growing area 6 of Hood Canal.

Symptoms of the illness, vibriosis, include watery diarrhea, often with abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills. Usually these symptoms occur within 24 hours of ingestion and last no more than three days. Severe disease is rare and occurs most commonly in people with weakened immune systems. Those who believe they have experienced these symptoms after consuming raw oysters should consult their health care provider and contact their local health department.

Raw oysters harvested from growing area 5 in Hood Canal from July 31 through August 20, 2007 have caused at least six people to become ill in Washington state. To date, records indicate that raw oysters from the area were distributed to Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington state, British Columbia (Canada), Bali (Indonesia), Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.

The Washington State Department of Health has closed the growing area associated with the illness and has asked commercial oyster harvesters and dealers who obtained oysters from this area to recall them.

Consumers who have recently purchased oysters should check with the place of purchase and ask if they were harvested from the affected growing areas. The recall involves both shucked oysters and oyster in the shell (shell stock oysters).

Those with weakened immune systems, including people affected by HIV/AIDS, chronic alcohol abuse, liver, stomach, or blood disorders, cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease, should avoid eating raw oysters, regardless of where they are harvested.

FDA advises that consumers can continue to enjoy oysters in many cooked preparations by doing the following:

At Restaurants and other Foodservice Establishments:

· Order oysters fully cooked.

In the Shell:

· Purchase oysters with the shells closed

· Throw away any oysters with shells already opened.

· Never allow raw seafood to come into contact with cooked food.

· Boil or steam the oysters:

· Boil oysters until the shells open. Once shells open, boil for an additional three to five minutes.

· To steam—add oysters to water that is already steaming and cook live oysters until the shells open, once open steam for another four to nine minutes.

· Use smaller pots to boil or steam oysters. Using larger pots, or cooking too many oysters at one time,

· Discard any oysters that do not open during cooking.

Shucked Oysters:

· Never allow raw seafood to come into contact with cooked food.

· Cook the oysters in one of the following ways:

· Boil or simmer shucked oysters for at least three minutes or until the edges curl.

· Fry at 375° F for at least three minutes.

· Broil three inches from heat for three minutes.

· Bake at 450° F for 10 minutes.

For more information:
Hood canal oyster area closed — second closure due to illness outbreak – a news release from the Washington State Department of Health
http://www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2007_news/07-143.htm

FDA’s discussion on V. parahaemolyticus is in the “Bad Bug Book.”

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap9.html

A description about V. parahaemolytics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/vibrioparahaemolyticus_g.htm

CDC/MMWR gives a list of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports at CDC relating to V. parahaemolyticus.. The date shown is the date the item was posted on the Web, not the date of the MMWR. The summary statement shown are the initial words of the overall document. The specific article of interest may be just one article or item within the overall report.

http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?action=search&direction=desc&queryText=vibrio+cholerae&sort=date&subset=mmwr

NIH/PubMed (a service of the US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health) provides a list of research abstracts contained in the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE database for V. parahaemolyticus..

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&dispmax=50&term=O139%5BWORD%5D%20AND%20Food%20Microbiology%5BMeSH%5D

AGRICOLA will provide a list of research abstracts contained in the National Agricultural Library database on V. parahaemolyticus.

http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&CNT=25&Search_Arg=Vibrio+cholerae+non-o1&Search_Code=GKEY&STARTDB=AGRIDB

The Seafood HACCP Alliance Compendium and the FDA’s Hazards Guide provide information on how to develop HACCP plans to control for this biological hazard.

http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/haccp/compendium/chapt20.htm – HACCP Alliance Compendium

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/haccp4d.html – FDA’s Hazards Guide (note the FDA is expecting to release a new version possibly by the end of this year)

US FDA Food Code recommendations for cooking fish (includes molluscan shellfish as defined by the FDA seafood HACCP regulation 21 CFR 123 part 123.3(d) http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/searule3.html ) is 145F/63C for 15 sec.; 155F/68C for 15 sec for comminuted fish; and 165F/74C or above for 15 sec for stuffed fish.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/fc05-3.pdf – see 3-401.11 Raw Animal Foods (starts on p. 72)

A list of resources on V. parahaemolyticus are listed at the bottom of this announcement.

I have recently set up a wiki that I have entitled the “Sushi-ya-pedia” that I would like to turn into a community powered sushi bar finder and restaurant review resource. In my opinion, there is no better reviewer than diners ourselves, so I’m working hard to get every restaurant in the US (and eventually the world) into the database, but I encourage anyone who may be interested in participating to head on over and check it out. Feel free to create an account and make your voice heard. If you don’t know how to create a wiki page, you are always welcome to email me and I would be happy to update your favorite restaurant with your description and review. For starters, you please visit:

http://www.sushifaq.com/sushiyapedia/
http://www.sushifaq.com/sushiyapedia/index.php/Formatting
http://www.sushifaq.com/sushiyapedia/index.php/Help:Contents

Please join and help make the Sushi-Ya-Pedia the most useful place for sushi lovers on the ‘net to find their food!

Meshi agare!
Warren