Sushi Deaths in Japan - Info Wanted
Jim Pook
I was at my favorite sushi bar today when the sushi chef told me that there
had been about 20 - 30 deaths in Japan that were somehow related to eating
sushi.
I had not heard anything about this - Is there anyone here who can shed some
light on what happened - or even IF it happened at all?
=============================================================================
- Jim Pook - Jim's Fishing Charters - The Fishing Guide Newsletter
#109 - 8460 Jellicoe Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5S 4S8
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without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
- Henry David Thoreau
=============================================================================
--
shado
On 9 Oct 1996 02:57:06 -0700, jim...@wimsey.com (Jim Pook) wrote:
>I was at my favorite sushi bar today when the sushi chef told me that there
>had been about 20 - 30 deaths in Japan that were somehow related to eating
>sushi.
snip, snip
Ack! I haven't heard this either. I've heard something about food
poisoning deaths but I thought that was due to contaminated radish
sprouts. I think they thought it might have been the sushi but they
discovered the sprouts were bad. I hope your sushi chef is wrong.
Bob Marcy
jim...@wimsey.com (Jim Pook) wrote:
>
>I was at my favorite sushi bar today when the sushi chef told me that there
>had been about 20 - 30 deaths in Japan that were somehow related to eating
>sushi.
>
>I had not heard anything about this - Is there anyone here who can shed some
>light on what happened - or even IF it happened at all?
>
He was, I think, quoting the national average of deaths in Japan from
eating improperly prepared Fuki (blowfish).
It also has a poison gland. Very expensive to eat, and deadly if the
Chef so much as nicks the gland while preparing the fish. Its a nerve
toxin that can kill within the hour. The chef I knew had worked in
Osaka, JPN under a Chef qualified to prepare this. According to him,
a chef had to take a practical test every year to show competency and
if he ever moved to another city, had to pass that city's examination
before earning a license. Despite all this, John said 30-40 people a
year died from eating Fuki.
It is illegal to import the fish, whole or in part, to Canada and (I
think) the US. Despite this, John thought there was a bar in New
Jersey that cultivated their own Fuki ffor sale. Considering the
risk, I doubt it. If so, I pity the poor insurance agent.
John couldn't understand the popularity of this since, according to
him, the meat is near white and nearly tasteless. I guess it must be
the same attraction there is to Russian Roulette.
Bob M.
---------
www.aei.ca/~bobm
___________________________________________________
DIPLOMACY: The art of repeating "Nice doggie" to a
Pit bull while searching for a rock.
rodent
In article <325c22d2...@news2.compulink.com>, m...@data.com (shado) says:
>
>On 9 Oct 1996 02:57:06 -0700, jim...@wimsey.com (Jim Pook) wrote:
>
>>I was at my favorite sushi bar today when the sushi chef told me that there
>>had been about 20 - 30 deaths in Japan that were somehow related to eating
>>sushi.
>
>Ack! I haven't heard this either. I've heard something about food
>poisoning deaths but I thought that was due to contaminated radish
>sprouts. I think they thought it might have been the sushi but they
>discovered the sprouts were bad. I hope your sushi chef is wrong.
What about Fugu? (Globefish) It used to happen years ago, that many people
died from unproperly prepared Fugu. But Fugu chefs are now licensed and it
is quite safe??? An old Japanese saying was "I'd like to eat Fugu, but I
also want to live" (Or something like that - I have a very old book written
in 1969 about Sushi)
Shauneen
Friendly San
RE "Sushi deaths" awhile back. End result was that they were not due to
sushi nor to radish sprouts, but in fact raw-ish (rare) beef in noodle
soups prepared for lunch in the the schools. I have spoken to my Japanese
pals in Japan and read the NYT and i think this is a pretty sure thing.
Also RE: Fugu. It was mentioned that 30-40 deaths per year due to Fugu
poisoning. I don't think this is quite true. Rather, nowadays, Fugu is
farm-raised (as we might say) or bred to have some but very little toxin -
not enough to poison you. At every Fugu establishment, restauranters are
required to have proper first aid tools on hand IE adrenal which they are
required to know hao to administer. I discovered this when i lived in
Japan and followed up on this bit of info. So, really the Fugu "Russian
Roulette" thang is just a bunch of hype these days.
--
-----------------MR. FRIENDLY-------akafriendlysan-------------------
He always stays near you, and steals in your mind,
to lead you into a good situation.
* HE'S YOUR BEST ALLY! *
When you're happy he's always laughing.
When you feel sad, he cheers me up.
Bill
Many folk, mostly schoolchildren, became ill from contaminated daikon
sprouts earlier this year. I don't recall the number ill or dead (if
any).
I am not sure of the number of deaths from eating fugu. The poison is
tetrodotoxin and is concentrated in the fish's liver. It doesn't have a
"poison gland" per se. Fugu related deaths are very rare if the fish is
prepared by a liscenced chef. I had fugu when I was in Japan: sashimi
first, followed by soup made from the fins. I thought it excellent,
although one cannot account for how much the thrill contributed. I'd
eat it again. I suspect that more people have died from eating
contaminated beef than from eating properly prepared fugu. Anybody have
the real figures?
JIM MCKINNON
Ah yes, the deadly Fugu... There is a Sake made with parts of this fish
and the toxin is in a minute amount and it will make your lips tingle...
Very Strong Sake. It's called Fugu-No-Hire. You will remember it...
There is a lot of "illegal" fugu eating in Japan I'm told. Clandestine
places where adults gather to eat this fish. Sashimi style. It's not a
real flavorable fish but there is a lot of attraction to eat it.
It is also very pricey. I've heard of a order of Fugu Sashimi for about
$120.00 American.
Kampai!!!
Don Weiss
In article <friendlysan-14...@mfd-dial3-10.cybercom.net>,
frien...@cybercom.net (Friendly San) wrote:
> RE "Sushi deaths" awhile back. End result was that they were not due to
> sushi nor to radish sprouts, but in fact raw-ish (rare) beef in noodle
> soups prepared for lunch in the the schools. I have spoken to my Japanese
> pals in Japan and read the NYT and i think this is a pretty sure thing.
The last I read in the Mainichi, the government had still not announced
the cause of the outbreak. Various school districts have dropped various
foods from their menus, everything from beef to bananas.
>
> Also RE: Fugu. It was mentioned that 30-40 deaths per year due to Fugu
> poisoning. I don't think this is quite true. Rather, nowadays, Fugu is
> farm-raised (as we might say) or bred to have some but very little toxin
> not enough to poison you.
The figure I heard was one or two per year, in recent years.
So enjoy -- fugu is REALLY GOOD!
Don Weiss
Bobshouse
> >
> > Also RE: Fugu. It was mentioned that 30-40 deaths per year due to Fugu
> > poisoning. I don't think this is quite true. Rather, nowadays, Fugu is
> > farm-raised (as we might say) or bred to have some but very little toxin
> > not enough to poison you.
> The figure I heard was one or two per year, in recent years.
>
> So enjoy -- fugu is REALLY GOOD!
>
> Don Weiss
Get real dude....you can't breed blowfish or fugu to be less poisonous.
The reproductive organs contain a deadly poison and if they are not
cleaned properly and the organs are accidently cut, you die.
Even properly cleaned, eating fugu sometimes causes numbness of the lips
or fingers. Dont let anyone tell you that they can't poison you. No
matter how much "farm breeding" they attempt.
Bobshouse
>
> > Get real dude....you can't breed blowfish or fugu to be less poisonous.
>
> orange tree.
>
> ///--- Gerry
>
Big difference between animal and plant Gerry.....
Lon Jones
What size poodle would you be wanting then ?
Prairiehm
>Get real dude....you can't breed blowfish or fugu to be less poisonous.
Flashback to Biology 101 does the term "selective breeding" ring a bell?
Or maybe you missed that day -- dude!
Lawless
Prairiehm (prai...@aol.com) wrote:
: >Get real dude....you can't breed blowfish or fugu to be less poisonous.
: Flashback to Biology 101 does the term "selective breeding" ring a bell?
: Or maybe you missed that day -- dude!
Except that it's pretty simple to breed for size because of the simple
breeding criteria, if you have enough time, and the amount of control that
can be brought to bear on plants via crosspollination, splicing, etc, helps
enormously there. Trying to selectively breed fish though, to change the
internal biology/chemistry? Nightmarish, though possibly fast breeding
cycles & large amounts of offspring might help.
-- \_awless is : Chase Vogelsberg (law...@netcom.com / law...@eskimo.com)
-- In your head, no car is fast enough,
-- In your heart, no love is true.
-- Will it ruin all your solitary fancies
-- If I tell you that it isn't only you? -- Emma Bull
HIDDA
Prairiehm wrote:
>
> >Get real dude....you can't breed blowfish or fugu to be less poisonous.
>
> Flashback to Biology 101 does the term "selective breeding" ring a bell?
> Or maybe you missed that day -- dude!
Yup! Just look at the turkey today. It's not the same as the turkey of
20 years ago. Now, they have so much white meat and so little dark.
Damned breeders. I like dark meat!
Drang2
I don't know if anyone would want to take the time to breed them in
captivity, but I would think it's possible.
Heck, the real betas (siamese fighting fish) from the rivers are plain and
ugly. It took many years of breeding to make them beautiful. So I guess
you could breed less poison fugu fish, but then the thrill would be gone,
right?
Lawless
gsm (sp...@primenet.com) wrote, re detoxied fugu:
: If the thrill is the potential of death, yes.
: If the thrill is good food, no.
I'd suspect the thrill with fugu comes from -both- the above, much as part
of the thrill in sky diving and other high risk activities comes from the
risk / proximity of danger - many people feel more alive afterwards. Tho
some feel kinda dead, or in pain..... ;->