Sushi Otaku

Archive for June, 2007

“The US Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert today to detain farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace (related to carp), and eel from China until the shipments are proven to be free of residues from drugs that are not approved in the US for use in farm-raised aquatic animals. ” This was part of an email I received today from a member of a discussion group for seafood professionals of which I am a member. I have commented before regarding some of the issues around importing food from china (e.g. the ‘Monkfish’ from China that was really potentially deadly pufferfish) and it appears that the saga continues. More and more food from China is being deemed unsafe for consumption, which is rather topical as the Unites States imports about 21% of our seafood from China, and of that about $1.9 billion worth is farm raised fish, the subject of the latest FDA action. Many US states have outright banned the imports until they are able to test safely. Currently, much of this seafood is contaminated with salmonella, or contains pesticides, illegal antibiotics and other veterinary medicines, and the top reason was, interestingly, “filth” (I’m not sure if that is a legal term, but that’s a quote from the FDA). Shrimp accounted for approximately 50% of the rejected seafood.

So… What does this mean for sushi lovers? Well… It is fortunate that most sushi is from pelagic fish. And that means wild, not farm raised and not imported from China. Farm raised items on your sushi menu are generally the shrimp (ebi), eel (unagi, anago is a salt water eel), salmon (sake), and yellowtail (hamachi). Of these, the easiest to find ‘wild’ is salmon, but I say ‘easy’ with a caveat. While your fishmonger probably sells wild salmon, few sushi restaurants do, and if they do, they often charge a premium. Wild shrimp is also somewhat easy to find at your fishmongers, but again, not so easy at a restaurant. Good luck with the eel and yellowtail, which is nearly impossible to find as ‘wild’ served as sushi in North America. Fortunately for yellowtail lovers, yellowtail is raised in Japan in hatcheries and flown around the world frozen, as the yellowtail caught in US waters is generally too lean to be used for sushi.

That said, the FDA is not claiming that if you eat this contaminated it will kill you, but that long term consumption can cause health problems. While the FDA isn’t specifically mentioning what those problems may be, it’s not too hard to figure out what they are if we’re talking pesticides, salmonella, and ‘filth.’

Generally speaking, it seems that your sushi is safe. You might want to cut back a bit on the shrimp tempura and the unagi don, but shrimp does come from other countries too, and if you trust the FDA (although I’m not entirely sure if I do, but that’s another story) they will keep the bad stuff out of our food supply. Personally, I tend to stay away from farmed salmon anyway, it’s probably no better than the stuff they are trying to keep out of the country… I love eel, but will probably eat it sparingly, and I’ve always hated farm raised shrimp because it has a totally different taste and texture than the ‘wild’ shrimp (shrimp classic?). But other than that, I’m still going to indulge. I suggest we not let fear temper our taste buds and remain sensible about our sushi choices.

Meshi agare!
Warren
The sushi guy

N.B.

Additional details are available from:

· Questions and Answers on FDA’s Import Alert on Farm-Raised Seafood From China (a lot of good information for processors and consumers here) http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/seadwpe.html

· FDA New Release, “FDA Detains Imports of Farm-Raised Chinese Seafood, Products Have Repeatedly contained Potentially Harmful Residues” http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01660.html

· Consumer Article on How FDA Regulates Seafood (this article also discusses how FDA protects consumers from unsafe seafood, mentions FDA regulatory and research programs, and the consumer’s role in seafood safety) http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/seafood062807.html

Japan is a fascinating country. Steeped in tradition, yet quick to adopt new technologies and trends, Japanese culture is an interesting melange of the old and the new. That said, while they took the transistor from its western inventors and changed the world, some things I’m hearing don’t sound like progress to me. If you read my previous entry about declining Bluefin tuna stocks threatening the future of sushi dining, you would know that the tuna situation is close to dire. Not willing to give up without a fight, inventive Japanese sushi chefs have come up with a new item… get ready…Venison sushi. Yes, you heard right, Deer sushi. If you don’t believe me, check out this article in the New York Times (free subscription required to view).

I’m a foodie and always eager to try new things. I eat insects, jellyfish, and I happen to love venison (mmmmm… jerky). I love steak tartar. But I have to say that I have no interest in trying this. It’s like Tofurky, one food should not be trying to masquerade as another, it should be appreciated for its own merits. Maguro, toro, o-toro, all these tuna sushi items are prized for the innate qualities that make them unique. This cannot be duplicated with a four legged critter, it is an entirely different kind of food. Personally, the last thing I want is to be eating my tai, suzuki, sake, and then but a piece of raw deer in my mouth. It just doesn’t fit. Without getting into the difference between fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle tissue, suffice it to say that fish cannot be any further from deer, biologically speaking. While many don’t like to view their food as once thinking, I am just trying to point out that deer is not a pelagic beast and it can never replace one. It will have a different taste, and a different texture. I admire risk taking and adaptability, but some things just shouldn’t be. Maguro is not a rich, meaty food, and just because a piece of venison may somewhat, ever so slightly resemble a piece of maguro, it is not maguro and I think shouldn’t be used in its place.

There are many fish in the sea, if I may, and it is certainly a tragedy that our species feels the need to decimate other species for our own gain, but a simple hiatus on tuna fishing would help the situation greatly. We wouldn’t need to eat red meat to replace our tuna if we just took a break. A little while without toro won’t kill any of us.

The New York Times article concludes with a statement I never thought I would hear from a Japanese chef; “We can learn from American sushi chefs,” Mr. Yamagata said. Without Japanese culture being the way it is, sushi would never have achieved the artful grace unique to the dish. The last thing I want to see is a Big Mac Maki, and I’m sticking to my guns on this one.

Meshi Agare!
Warren
The Sushi Guy