<p>[Here</a> is a paper](<a href=“http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0007866]Here”>The Real maccoyii: Identifying Tuna Sushi with DNA Barcodes – Contrasting Characteristic Attributes and Genetic Distances) that examined 68 samples of fish sold as tuna in 31 sushi restaurants in NYC and Denver. 19 of the restaurants lied in one way or another: “Five out of nine samples sold as a variant of white tuna were not albacore (T. alalunga), but escolar (Lepidocybium flavorunneum), a gempylid species banned for sale in Italy and Japan due to health concerns. Nineteen samples were northern bluefin tuna (T. thynnus) or the critically endangered southern bluefin tuna (T. maccoyii), though nine restaurants that sold these species did not state these species on their menus.” In other words, there’s a good chance you’ll eat snakefish, which in some people causes real gastric distress, or you’ll be eating an endangered species.</p>
<p>Well thank you. I’ve always hated sushi and yet felt I was missing out on a great treat as everyone I knew enthused about it. I feel much better now!</p>
<p>I guess I’m feeling good that I only like raw salmon. I do love that but I only get it at a few places and if there is any whiff of fish at the sushi bar, I won’t order it. I really love maki though, but most of my favorite ones are cooked.</p>
<p>I love sushi- but my favorite is either veggie or eel ( which is always cooked)</p>
<p>Wasabi and ginger will kill all bacteria.
Just kidding. I prefer steak and grilled salmon. But we have beef recalled every month.</p>
<p>I love sushi. But I think raw fish can’t be good for you and it is kind of expensive so I only eat sushi several times a year.</p>
<p>Glad that after 3 years of being a “vegetarian who also eats fish,” a few weeks ago, I became completely vegetarian. :)</p>
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<p>How selfish. Since you “hate it”, no one else should be allowed to enjoy it?</p>
<p>The OP has titled this thread to draw a conclusion that the researchers of the linked paper certainly didn’t intend.</p>
<p>Actually, the problem brought out by that paper is not with sushi itself, but mislabeling of the fish. They propose using genetic barcodes, so you know exactly what species you are getting when you order tuna or maguro. I seriously doubt too many neighborhood sushi joints are serving the more expensive bluefin and calling it common tuna. Toro is supposed to be bluefin, so their waiter at the “upscale nyc” sushi bar evidently either made a mistake or was afraid to tell the patrons they were eating an “endanged species”. As far as escolar, it usually doesn’t cause a problem under 6 oz., but I agree it should be labeled properly and absolutely not be passed off as “white tuna”. </p>
<p>There is no doubt in my mind that raw sushi and sashimi is safer than beef or poultry, and I will continue to enjoy it.</p>
<p>I applaud the authors of the paper for proposing DNA bar code regulations for sea food. Another example of better living through technology.</p>
<p>^^^ where did cartera suggest that others cannot enjoy sushi ?</p>
<p>I feel the same way, but I only eat fish that is cooked and cooked all the way through</p>
<p>I used to eat sushi on a fairly regular basis, but I became concerned about safety and haven’t eaten it in years. I liked it, but don’t really miss it much.</p>
<p>Bar codes are recommended because the restaurants lie - or their suppliers lie or both - but my bet is on the restaurants since they should be breaking down fish to serve. I don’t trust what I’m getting at sushi restaurants. Example: a nice place around the corner, kind of hip, had some “bar snack” sashimi - and it was escolar, not labeled as such. </p>
<p>As for eating salmon, you should read about the destructive practices of farmed salmon and how it is hurting the environment, other species, wild salmon, etc. And you should understand that any salmon can be sold as wild caught when they aren’t. </p>
<p>Fish lying is common and I’m not talking about the one that got away. A recent investigation into grouper in Florida found that only a relatively small percentage was actually grouper.</p>
<p>Speaking about eel/unagi, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, [eel</a> is to be avoided](<a href=“http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=253]eel”>http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=253). They say that even “farmed eel” is not truly farmed - instead, wild eels are caught and then raised in pens to be fattened up. I personally like eel, but not enough to keep eating it after learning this.</p>
<p>Good…a shorter line at my sushi bar. Where I have eaten for twenty three years and never gotten sick. The owner, goes to the LA fish market 5 times a week at 5 AM. I have met him there twice (to learn a thing or two about fish). I am very particular about WHERE I eat my sushi as everyone should be. To me, a world without sweet shrimp is a world without love.
PS: NEVER EVER eat sushi on a Sunday or on ANY day in a restaurant more than 50 miles inland.</p>
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<p>I hope you get the fried heads with that order!</p>
<p>I’ve been eating sushi for probably 30 years. Love it. Never had a problem, to my knowledge, but my OB did yell at me when I was pregnant and told me not to eat raw fish til after the baby was born.</p>
<p>The sushi concept does not require raw fish to be enjoyable.</p>
<p>I love sushi, but I don’t eat the varieties that include raw fish. There are plenty of others to choose from.</p>
<p>An arm of the Unification Church (led by the controversial Sun Myung Moon) owns and operates the company that is the nation’s largest supplier of raw fish to sushi restaurants. [Sushi</a> and Rev. Moon – chicagotribune.com](<a href=“http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/chi-0604sushi-1-story,0,656681.story]Sushi”>Sushi and Rev. Moon)</p>
<p>Here’s an excerpt from the Chicago Tribune story:</p>
<p>Adhering to a plan Moon spelled out more than three decades ago in a series of sermons, members of his movement managed to integrate virtually every facet of the highly competitive seafood industry. The Moon followers’ seafood operation is driven by a commercial powerhouse, known as True World Group. It builds fleets of boats, runs dozens of distribution centers and, each day, supplies most of the nation’s estimated 9,000 sushi restaurants.</p>
<p>Although few seafood lovers may consider they’re indirectly supporting Moon’s religious movement, they do just that when they eat a buttery slice of tuna or munch on a morsel of eel in many restaurants. True World is so ubiquitous that 14 of 17 prominent Chicago sushi restaurants surveyed by the Tribune said they were supplied by the company.</p>
<p>^^^ Hey, don’t the moonies own the Washington Times too? Guess you can wrap up bad fish in a bad newspaper.</p>
<p>And marian-- the way you phrased the first sentence of your post cracked me up! I read it as that it doesnt require eating raw fish to be enjoyable! (ie eating raw fish is not enjoyable) LOL</p>
<p>Yes, JYM, the moonies do own the Washington Times. Their business ventures are wide-ranging – including a tommy gun factory and a NYC hotel (in the news for a bed bug infestation a few years back).</p>
<p>“I hope you get the fried heads with that order!”</p>
<p>If they were not so expensive, I would eat them like popcorn. My sushi chef has a large tank with live huge sweet shrimp. You can be introduced before he fries his their little heads.</p>