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Friday, November 5, 2010

Sushi and... Anisakisis

In Reference to Danielle's Post below:

Here's so y'all can all be aware...

My dad was telling me about this AWFUL program he saw on Animal Planet... WARNING: don't watch this if you have a weak stomach. (I have to be careful or I'll become a serious hypochondriac) This parasite, the Anisakis worm, can be found in sushi. It is killed if the sushi is pre-frozen (or if fish is cooked to 140 degrees). But the problem is, when you walk into a sushi restaurant... do you know if their fish is pre-frozen? And if you ask them if it is, how do you know they are telling you the truth? Furthermore, sushi is a food that is handled with someone else's hands. I know restaurants supposedly have regulations on washing hands and cleanliness and strict protocol that they have to follow, but here's the scary thing: These worms are visible in the fish's flesh with the naked eye. What if one of the Sushi-chefs sees the worm, chops off that part of the fish, but assumes that the rest of the fish is "ok" because he doesn't see any worms? And what if that part of the "supposedly ok" fish ends up on YOUR plate? Now, I LOVE sushi, and I was DEVASTATED when my dad told me about this horrible show (thanks dad). Yet while this parasite is rare in the US, it obviously isn't rare enough. Watch:

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/monsters-inside-me-really-bad-sushi.html

1 comment:

  1. I watched the video! It sucks sooo much because I love sushi, but I am kinda scared to eat it. Fish seems like a very delicate food that would be safer grilled.

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