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Sushi Safety
Whether you eat it in a restaurant or prepare it at your
home, sushi is becoming increasingly popular. However,
eating raw seafood carries a greater food safety risk than
eating fish that has been properly cooked.
To ensure that you are consuming or preparing the safest
product possible, it is important to follow these tips:
Sushi Fish
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When purchasing or eating sushi, BUY OR
CONSUME COMMERCIALLY FROZEN FISH ONLY! The freezing process
that the fish undergo commercially helps eliminate the risk
of parasites that may be present in the fish.
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In Colorado, this requirement can be found
in Section 3-102B of the Colorado Retail Food Establishment
Rules and Regulations, which states, “…before service or
sale in ready-to-eat form, raw, raw-marinated, lightly
cooked-marinated, marinated, or partially cooked fish other
than molluscan shellfish shall be frozen throughout to a
temperature of:
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-4ºF (-20ºC) or below for 168 hours (7
days) in a freezer; or
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-31ºF (-35ºC) or below for 15 hours in a
blast freezer.
Certain tuna species are exempt from this
requirement. Section 3-102C of the Colorado Retail Food
Establishment Rules and Regulations states that fish of the
following tuna species ONLY, “…may be served or sold in a raw,
raw-marinated, or partially cooked ready-to-eat form without
freezing” as specified above:
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Thunnus alalunga
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Thunnus albacares (Yellowfin tuna)
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Thunnus atlanticus
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Thunnus maccoyii (Bluefin tuna, Southern)
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Thunnus obesus (Bigeye tuna)
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Thunnus thynnus (Bluefin tuna, Northern)
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At the grocery store, look for the phrase “sushi-grade” or
“sashimi-grade” which indicates that the fish has been
commercially frozen according to the procedure listed above.
If you have any doubts about the quality of the fish, ask
personnel in the seafood department.
Preparation
- WASH YOUR HANDS!!! Hand washing is the most important step
you or the sushi chef can take when preparing sushi to protect yourself and others
from communicable disease.
- Store all seafood and raw fish in a refrigerator at a
temperature of 41º F or below at all times.
- Sushi rice that is not prepared with vinegar should be
maintained cold at 41º F or below to prevent bacteria from
growing on it. Preparing sushi rice with vinegar as part of an
approved recipe lowers the pH of the rice, making it more
acidic and reducing the risk of bacterial growth.
- Prevent cross-contamination by physically separating raw
from cooked product. Use separate knives, cutting boards, and
rolling mats for raw seafood, vegetables, and cooked foods.
- Refrigerate sushi rolls and sashimi as you finish preparing
them and before serving them.
- Wash, rinse, and sanitize all utensils and surfaces after
you are finished preparing the sushi.
High-Risk Individuals
Individuals who have compromised immune systems, men and women
of reproductive age, and pregnant women should limit their
intake of raw fish and seafood, or avoid it entirely, due to
potential bacterial and mercurial (mercury) contamination.
For more information on mercury contamination:
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html
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Minnesota Department of Health
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/fish/index.html
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US FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
Consumer Advisory
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg.html
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California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA)
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/fish.html
For more information on seafood safety:
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