Scientists at Nagasaki University have successfully grown non-toxic Torafugu by restricting the fish`s diet. The experiment involved raising more than 5,000 fish between 2001 and 2004 and analyzing the toxicity of muscles, skin, gonads, liver and other organs. The team concluded that the amount of tetrodotoxin in all these parts was non-toxic and would allow the safe production of fugu-kimo (ball liver). [50] While the preparation of fugu should be left to the professionals and you certainly shouldn`t try this at home, it`s interesting to know what steps chefs need to take to ensure that fugu is safe to eat. Under the current system, restaurants in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which has a population of about 13 million, can only serve fugu if they have a specially trained chef on site. “It`s not easy for unlicensed people to clean up Fugu,” Suzuki said at his branch of the Torafugu-tei chain in the upscale Ginza neighborhood, as he used his sharp knife to extract the toxic internal organs of freshly killed fish. A fugu hot pot meal in Torafugu-tei costs around 5,000 yen ($63), but prices at some of Tokyo`s most exclusive restaurants can reach tens of thousands of yen. When served as sashimi, fugu is tender, gelatinous, delicious and does not smell fishy. It also has the most umami (the flavor you get with monosodium glutamate) of any fish. Since 2000, 23 people have died in Japan due to Fugu, according to government figures. Figures from the Fugu Research Institute show that 50% of the victims were poisoned by the liver, 43% by the ovaries and 7% by the skin. Almost all of these deaths were the result of home preparation. In the Kansai region, the colloquial word teppō (鉄砲), meaning rifle or weapon, is used for fish.
It is a play on the verb ataru (当たる), which can mean to be poisoned or shot. In the Shimonoseki area, the ancient Fuku pronunciation is more common than modern Fugu. [49] The former is also a homonym for happiness, while the latter is for the disabled. The Tsukiji Fugu Fish Market holds a church service every year at the height of the Fugu season, releasing hundreds of fugu caught in the Sumida River. A similar ceremony is also held at another major market in Shimonoseki. Statistics from the Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health show 20 to 44 incidents, some involving multiple guests, of fugu poisoning per year between 1996 and 2006 in Japan. [ref. Between 34 and 64 people were hospitalized, and zero to six died each year, with an average mortality rate of 6.8%. [28] Of the 23 incidents reported in Tokyo between 1993 and 2006, only one occurred in a restaurant; All the others involved people who caught and ate the fish. [28] Amateur preparation poisoning may result from confusion between tampon types, as well as inappropriate methods, and some may constitute deliberate suicide attempts.
Engelbert Kaempfer, a German physician who lived in Japan in the 1690s, reported that an unusually toxic type of puffer fish was sometimes sought after by people who wanted to commit suicide. [29] The main point of fugu preparation is to eliminate all signs of tetrodotoxin, which is usually found everywhere except meat. Tetrodotoxin is rapid and violent, causing numbness around the mouth, paralysis and eventually death. It is said to be 1,000 times stronger than cyanide and, of course, there is no antidote. Since October 2012, restaurants in Japan have been allowed to sell fugu prepared and packaged by a licensed practitioner elsewhere. [21] Lanterns can be made from preserved fugus bodies. These can sometimes be seen outside fugu restaurants, as children`s toys, as folk art or as souvenirs. Fugu skin is also transformed into everyday objects such as wallets or waterproof boxes. In South Korea, Fugu is known as bok-eo (복어). It is very popular in port cities such as Busan and Incheon. It is prepared in a number of dishes such as soups and salads and has a high price.
From October, restaurants will be allowed to buy ready-to-use fugu – packaged or frozen, for example, as long as it`s from a licensed chef. The fugu is cleaned of the most toxic parts in Japan and transported under license to the United States in custom clear plastic containers. Fugu chefs in American restaurants are trained to the same strict specifications as in Japan. Pufferfish native to U.S. waters, especially the genus Spheroides, were also eaten as food, sometimes leading to poisoning. [44] Fugu (河豚; 鰒; フグ) in Japanese, bogeo (복어; 鰒魚) or bok (복) in Korean, and hétún (河豚; 河魨) in Modern Standard Chinese[1] is a pufferfish, usually of the genus Takifugu, Lagocephalus or Sphoeroides, or a porcupine of the genus Diodon, or a dish of these fishes. To prepare fugu, chefs must first train tirelessly, preparing hundreds of fish at a cost of thousands of dollars. Then, and only then, can they legally sell it in their restaurants. Chefs must be at least 20 years old and usually train between four and six years old. But that`s about to change. Sometimes other parts of the fish are eaten, but it is in these parts that the danger lies.
In 2009, seven daredevil guests in the city of Tsuruoka were severely poisoned after eating grilled fugu testicles for one night. In 1975, kabuki actor Bando Mitsugoro VIII died after eating four servings of fugu liver. In 2012, two children, aged two and three, were killed after being fed fugu for lunch in Jomalig, Quezon, and the same week, two fishermen from Sagay town died and nine were hospitalized for eating the skin. A rakugo, or humorous short story, tells the story of three men who prepared a fugu stew but were not sure if it was safe to eat. To test the stew, they gave something to a beggar. When it didn`t seem to hurt, they ate the stew. Later, they met the beggar again and were happy that he was still healthy. After this encounter, the beggar who hid the stew instead of eating it knew it was safe and could eat it. The three men had been deceived by the wise beggar. The preparation of Fugu Restaurant is strictly regulated by law in Japan[3] and several other countries, and only chefs who have qualified after three or more years of rigorous training are allowed to prepare the fish.
[2] [4] Home preparation sometimes results in accidental death. [4] Unprepared fugu continues to be banned from restaurant menus without licensed staff. Fugu prices increase in autumn and peak in winter, the best season, as they grow to survive the cold. Live fish arrive at a restaurant and survive in a large tank, usually in plain sight. Prepared fugu are also often available in grocery stores, which must provide official licensing documents. Whole fish cannot be sold to the general public. The Torafugu or tiger puffer fish (Takifugu rubripes) is the most prestigious and poisonous edible species. Other species are also consumed; For example, Higanfugu (T. pardalis), Shōsaifugu (T. vermicularis syn.
snyderi) and Mafugu (T. porphyreus). The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare provides a list[18] showing which body parts of the species can be consumed. The list lists safe genera, including pufferfish of the genera Lagocephalus and Sphoeroides and related porcupines (Harisenbon) of the family Diodontidae. Fugu contains deadly amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin in its organs, especially in the liver, ovaries, eyes and skin. [5] Poison, a sodium channel blocker,[6] paralyzes muscles while the victim remains fully conscious; [7] The poisoned victim could not breathe and eventually died of suffocation. [8] There is no known antidote for fugu poison. [9] Standard treatment involves supporting the airways and circulation until the poison is metabolized and excreted from the victim`s body.
[10] The people of Japan have been eating fugu for centuries. Fugu bones have been found in several shells, called kaizuka, from the Jōmon period, which are more than 2,300 years old. The Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868) prohibited the consumption of fugu in Edo and its sphere of influence. It became common again as the power of the shogunate weakened. In the western regions of Japan, where government influence was weaker and fugu easier to obtain, various cooking methods were developed to eat them safely. During the Meiji era (1867-1912), Fugu was again banned in many areas. [12] According to a fugu cook in Tokyo, the Emperor of Japan never ate fugu due to an unspecified “centuries-old prohibition.” [13] Japanese pufferfish, or fugu as it is known in Japanese, is perhaps the most notorious banned food in the world. Fugu has almost become the model child of forbidden foods, illustrating our strange obsession with eating foods that could and do prove deadly. Despite the high risk associated with preparing fugus, the Tokyo City Government has announced plans to ease restrictions that only allow highly skilled chefs to serve the dish.
It is possible that cooks who study for a single day can sell the deadly fish as long as they buy from suppliers where the toxic parts have been removed. With fugu starting at around $120 per capita, that`s good news for many new chefs, but for people like Kunio Miura, who perfected the art for 60 years, it`s a big concern. Even after 60, he is still careful when cutting Fugus. In November 2011, a chef at Fugu Fukuji in Tokyo, two Michelin stars, was suspended from his post. The chef served fugu liver to a customer who, although warned of the risks, specifically asked to provide it.