Currently viewing the category: "sushi"

Salmonella Outbreak: Recall on Yellowfin Tuna

By On · Add Comment · In Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recall, Salmonella Bareilly, salmonella poisoning, sushi, yellowfin tuna

Okay, fish lovers–more sushi news, and not in a good way. Looks like there’s been a recall on tuna, yellowfin to be exact, due to a salmonella outbreak in twenty states linked to the fish. This is a warning to be cautious if you’re out eating sushi over the next few weeks.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 116 illnesses have been reported, including 12 people who have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The tuna was sold to groceries and restaurants by the Moon Marine USA Corp. of Cupertino, Calif., also known as MMI, and presumably for making sushi, not for individual consumption. The Northern California fish supplier is voluntarily recalling 58,828 pounds of frozen raw yellowfin tuna that was labeled as Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA.

Because the fish was sold to groceries and restaurants, many of the people who became ill reported eating “spicy tuna,” said the FDA. The microorganism was Salmonella Bareilly, a rare salmonella subspecies. The illnesses hasve been reported in the following statesand the District of Columbia:

Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (5), District of Columbia (2), Florida (1), As Georgia (5), Illinois (10), Louisiana (2), Maryland (11), Massachusetts (8), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), New Jersey (7), New York (24), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (5), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5), and Wisconsin (12).

The FDA warns of a 30-day lag time between when people become sick and when cases are reported to health officials. In other words, there could be more people getting sick. Looks like New York, Wisconsin, and Maryland were hit the hardest, with Illinois not far off. The raw yellowfin tuna product may have passed through several distributors before reaching the restaurant and grocery market and may not be clearly labeled.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of eating the contaminated food. The illness can be severe or even life-threatening for infants, older people, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

So stay away from the spicy tuna, peeps–nuff said.

Fugu Booboo

By On · Add Comment · In blowfish, fugu, neurotoxin, pufferfish, sushi, tetrodotoxin

Oh man, I can’t make this stuff up. Three men remain critical after eating blowfish testicles. Digest that for a while.

Apparently fugu balls are a delicacy in Japan. Fugu is Japanese for pufferfish, and it contains tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin with no known antidote. Seven men ate the off-the-menu special and reported feeling numb soon afterward. Three of the seven are still hospitalized and critical. Fugu must be prepared by specially-trained chefs, but the owner of the Northern Japanese restaurant did not have a proper licence to prepare fugu. He is now in police custody. God help him.

Like I’ve said before, sushi is a delicay that takes special skills and knowledge–there’s an art to preparing it. I don’t recommend eating in sushi restaurants that don’t have a bonafide top-quality chef. And definitley not the puffer balls, especially if you ever find yourself in Northern Japan–they have less stringent rules there. Eat a blowfish testicle there and you might come home in a bodybag.

Beware Fake Sushi!

By On · Add Comment · In baby crab, chefs, fish, infection, parasites, raw, salmon, sashimi, seafood, sushi
Question: you’ve caught a big salmon and you’d like to cut it up as sashimi. Upon cutting it open, you see that it is infested with worms. Can you still eat it? Does the answer seem obvious?

Eating raw fish is a delicacy, and preparing it is an art. Sushi chefs spend many years training in art of choosing the proper fish to be served raw. And as sushi restaurants have exploded in the U.S. and Europe, more an more untrained individuals are opening sushi restaurants. This can be a problem.

Not every fish is suitable to be eaten raw–many amateurs don’t know this. Many forms of seafood can cause illness if not prepared properly. Take, for instance, baby crabs. “Fake” sushi restaurants often serve them raw. Bad idea. But deep fried baby crabs are suitable for consumption. And how about salmon? Salmon is prone to parasitic infection, therefore, it should never be eaten raw. Salmon should always be cooked, marinated, or frozen before being consumed.

Heh! Who knew? That’s why sushi chefs get paid the big bucks. I’ve always had an inherent respect for sushi chefs, and I personally would never eat in a sushi restaurant that isn’t run by a top-quality, highly-trained sushi chef. But it wasn’t until I saw this great piece on 60 Minutes on the tuna trade that I really developed respect for people who make fish purchases and preparation their life’s work–just fascinating.

Here’s the bottom line: Do your research. Find sushi restaurants with properly trained artisans preparing the goods. Steer clear of fly-by-night operations attempting to capitalize on the popularity of this exotic delicacy. And never–and I mean never–prepare raw fish on your own, because “it must be easy to do.” It isn’t. If it were, would it take as long to master?

As far as the opening question is concerned: Yeah, you can eat it–throw away the infected parts and cook the rest.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.