Tuna Scrape: The Food Safety Risk Lurking in Supermarket Sushi - Polidicks

[quote] Q: I had no idea that the tuna in my sushi roll was scraped off the bones in India, ground up, frozen, and shipped to California. Is this another "slime" product? Can I eat it raw? A: No sooner did the furor over lean, finely textured beef (a.k.a. "pink slime") die down than we have another one over sushi tuna. On April 13, the Food and Drug Administration said Moon Marine USA, an importing company based in Cupertino, was voluntarily recalling 30 tons of frozen raw ground yellowfin tuna, packaged as Nakaochi scrape. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigations linked consumption of Nakaochi scrape sushi to about 250 diagnosed cases and an estimated 6,000 or so undiagnosed cases of illness caused by two rare strains of salmonella. Among the victims who were interviewed, more than 80 percent said they ate spicy tuna sushi rolls purchased in grocery stores or restaurants. Scrape refers to the meat left on fish skeletons after the filets are cut off. This is perfectly good fish, but difficult to get at. I once visited an Alaskan salmon packing plant and asked what happened to the delicious looking meat between the bones. The answer: pet food. (Lucky cats.) A hot commodity But tuna is too valuable to leave behind, and companies in India use special devices to scoop out the meat, combine it with scrapings from many other fish, chop the mixture, freeze it in blocks, and ship it to importers in the United States. Unlike "pink slime," tuna scrape is not treated with ammonia or anything else to kill harmful bacteria. Nevertheless, it is supposed to be safe. The FDA requires producers of imported foods to follow established safety plans. Although the United States imports about 80 percent of seafood sold domestically, the FDA only inspects 1 or 2 percent. This means we have to rely on the diligence of international food producers in following safe-handling procedures, and of U.S. importers in verifying safety through pathogen testing. But even well-intentioned producers can make safety errors, especially when dealing with high-risk foods. Tuna scrape is very high risk. Its supply chain is long, complicated and international, leaving many opportunities for contamination. And it is eaten raw. This tuna scrape came from a single processing plant in India owned by Moon Marine International of Taiwan. Tuna are plentiful off the Indian coast, and the tuna processing industry is expanding rapidly. India has dozens, perhaps hundreds, of fish processing facilities, but most are relatively small and their number, size and geographical dispersion make monitoring difficult. Safe handling issues The frozen scrape blocks are supposed to be held at subzero temperatures throughout shipping. Even so, they pose a safety risk. They combine the scrapings from many fish. One contaminated scraping can contaminate the entire lot. And subzero freezing may kill some salmonella, but large fractions can survive, remain viable, and multiply when the blocks are thawed. Once the tuna scrape arrived in America, I'm guessing it was trucked to Cupertino and from there to retailers and distributors who further trucked them to restaurants and grocery stores. There, sushi chefs thawed the scrape and used it to make spicy tuna rolls. Tuna scrape is used in supermarket-grade sushi, not the fancy stuff. Sushi used to be - and still is, in places - an art form requiring exceptional skills. In Japan, sushi chefs can train for as many as 10 years to learn how to recognize the freshest, safest and most delicious fish. Sushi served by such chefs is made to order. It is never pre-prepared. It can be breathtakingly expensive. But in America, sushi has gone mainstream. You can find prepackaged sushi rolls at practically any supermarket or convenience store, at a cost equivalent to hamburger. Cheap sushi is made with cheap ingredients - hence, Nakaochi scrape - by chefs with far less training. A typical certification program for sushi chefs in this country can be completed in two or three months. Some offer certification online. Although these programs address safe food-handling procedures, the training is necessarily superficial. What are the odds? Sushi aficionados argue that while raw fish is never perfectly safe, the safety odds are much better when the chef is well trained, and the fish are freshly caught and cut to order in front of you. By their standards, tuna scrape is suitable only for pet food, which is at least cooked to kill pathogens. If anything, the tuna scrape outbreak teaches why it is so important to know where food comes from and how it is made. Caveat emptor.[/quote] [url]http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/tuna-scrape-the-food-safety-risk-lurking-in-supermarket-sushi/256790/[/url] Not going to stop me from eating sushi.

Supermarket sushi contains salmonella? There's something fishy about this.

[QUOTE=UnknownDude;35871983]Supermarket sushi contains salmonella? There's something fishy about this.[/QUOTE] Hi, you called Anyway american sushi (and food safety standards) is lackluster in general anyway, what did you expect the slime in premade kroger sushi to be top-quality maguro or something

Who eats supermarket sushi anyway

I don't eat sushi at all. Raw fish, meh. Ground Beef? Don't even touch it anymore after the pink slime fiasco. I look at hamburger meat at the supermarket and all I can think about are the bottles of Ammonia in the kitchen & cleaning section a few aisles away.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;35872835]I don't eat sushi at all. Raw fish, meh. Ground Beef? Don't even touch it anymore after the pink slime fiasco. I look at hamburger meat at the supermarket and all I can think about are the bottles of Ammonia in the kitchen & cleaning section a few aisles away.[/QUOTE] Actually, there's nothing wrong with pink slime, the ammonia in it actually cleanses the meat and prevents you from getting sick. When you cook the meat, the ammonia compounds break down and the ammonia evaporates.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;35872835]I don't eat sushi at all. Raw fish, meh. Ground Beef? Don't even touch it anymore after the pink slime fiasco. I look at hamburger meat at the supermarket and all I can think about are the bottles of Ammonia in the kitchen & cleaning section a few aisles away.[/QUOTE] "pink slime" is actually relatively harmless, it's not going to make you die a horrific death just on its own.

Sushi is delicious, but hey, you can never be careful enough with raw meat.

I eat Sushi nearly every Friday at a restaurant. Shits too delicious to pass up.

Uncooked meat can make you sick, in other news, grass is green and scientists have verified water is indeed wet.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;35872835]I don't eat sushi at all. Raw fish, meh. Ground Beef? Don't even touch it anymore after the pink slime fiasco. I look at hamburger meat at the supermarket and all I can think about are the bottles of Ammonia in the kitchen & cleaning section a few aisles away.[/QUOTE] You are naive and ignorant. Firstly, "pink slime" is mostly just a sensation driven craze with little actual meaning. The meat is harmless. Yeah, probably not the healthiest kind of meat, but nowhere near harmful on it's own, in any way. You eat much more harmful stuff normally and barely realize it, and if you smoke or drink, you can pretty much forget about it altogether as it's your smallest problem. Secondly, if you are concerned about your health, raw fish of [I]decent quality[/I] (not garbage but not necessarily some "premium boogers" crap either) is one of the healthiest meats you can eat.

[QUOTE=Drsalvador;35872933]"pink slime" is actually relatively harmless, it's not going to make you die a horrific death just on its own.[/QUOTE] JAMIE OLIVER HAS TRICKED ME ALL ALONG

Tuna Scrape sounds like a sex term

[QUOTE=TheFishyG;35873576]Tuna Scrape sounds like a sex term[/QUOTE] [i]"Hey baby, I can scrape that lil' ol' tuna of yours AAAAALLLLLLLLLL night."[/i] *Proceeds to get slapped.*

[QUOTE=zombini;35872851]Actually, there's nothing wrong with pink slime, the ammonia in it actually cleanses the meat and prevents you from getting sick. When you cook the meat, the ammonia compounds break down and the ammonia evaporates.[/QUOTE] The only thing bad about it, is the fact it contains no nutritional value. Plus any additives that may be added later on for taste, etc.

you mean raw fish is bad for you? why I never

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;35872835]Ground Beef? Don't even touch it anymore after the pink slime fiasco. I look at hamburger meat at the supermarket and all I can think about are the bottles of Ammonia in the kitchen & cleaning section a few aisles away.[/QUOTE] Here's a fun fact for y'all kids at home: due to the ammonia treatment, 'pink slime' has less harmful bacteria than 'ordinary' beef!

[QUOTE=Ray-The-Sun;35875064]Here's a fun fact for y'all kids at home: due to the ammonia treatment, 'pink slime' has less harmful bacteria than 'ordinary' beef![/QUOTE] It's also one of the most fucking disgusting things imaginable so go figure.

if I ever eat sushi, I think I'd prefer the really really proper, professionally made kind, and go all out on flavors Sushi from a Japanese man who understands English only enough to understand compliments, with someone special, wouldn't that be fun? [QUOTE=yawmwen;35875158]It's also one of the most fucking disgusting things imaginable so go figure.[/QUOTE] [thumb]http://blog.timesunion.com/hottopics/files/2012/03/Pink-Slime-Taste-Test.JPEG-01a7e.jpg[/thumb] looks good

No shit, really? the raw fish wrapped in moist rice made in a germ-ridden building has [I]Salmonella[/I] in it!? i would never have guessed... Seriously though, if you go to a good quality sushi restaurant, you'll be fine.

[QUOTE=zombini;35872851]Actually, there's nothing wrong with pink slime, the ammonia in it actually cleanses the meat and prevents you from getting sick. When you cook the meat, the ammonia compounds break down and the ammonia evaporates.[/QUOTE] Even knowing that I still get queasy. I'm quite picky when it comes to food I suppose. [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Ray-The-Sun;35875064]Here's a fun fact for y'all kids at home: due to the ammonia treatment, 'pink slime' has less harmful bacteria than 'ordinary' beef![/QUOTE] If that's the case, why haven't they started downing [I]all [/I]meat in a chemical bath yet?

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;35875244]Even knowing that I still get queasy. I'm quite picky when it comes to food I suppose. [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] If that's the case, why haven't they started downing [I]all [/I]meat in a chemical bath yet?[/QUOTE] because stupid people think it's a bad thing

[QUOTE=J!NX;35875299]because stupid people think it's a bad thing[/QUOTE] Or maybe stupid people don't understand that some people don't like to eat nasty shit. People think oysters are nasty as shit even though they are pretty nutritious, but I don't see anyone calling those people stupid.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;35875362] People think oysters are nasty as shit even though they are pretty nutritious, but I don't see anyone calling those people stupid.[/QUOTE] But I do that? You [B]are[/B] [highlight]stupid[/highlight] [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] If somebody doesn't want to eat something due to his preference, fine, it's not like anybody should force him. Saying "that's just nasty" is ignorant and perhaps even intolerant towards the ones who enjoy it. "That's not something for me" is alright.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;35875158]It's also one of the most fucking disgusting things imaginable so go figure.[/QUOTE] If people hadn't coined the term "pink slime", there wouldn't have been such a shitstorm about it. I mean what would have happened if they just used "finely textured beef"? Which sounds better, "Finely textured beef? Sounds weird, but I guess I'll still eat it" versus "Pink Slime? That sounds disgusting, I don't want to eat that!"?

[QUOTE=Xenomoose;35876056]If people hadn't coined the term "pink slime", there wouldn't have been such a shitstorm about it. I mean what would have happened if they just used "finely textured beef"? Which sounds better, "Finely textured beef? Sounds weird, but I guess I'll still eat it" versus "Pink Slime? That sounds disgusting, I don't want to eat that!"?[/QUOTE] I didn't care about the "pink slime" buzzword. I do care about my food being drowned in ammonia. It may be safe, but it makes me feel sick thinking about it, and this is from a dude who eats raw octopus and oyster. [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Awesomecaek;35875558] "That's not something for me" is alright.[/QUOTE] But it's not just "not for me". Green peppers are something that's "not for me". This is nasty as shit. There is a difference between not liking something and being disgusted by something. If other people can stand it, then whatever, but I'm not going to pretend like it's not something that makes me feel sick.

lol yeah clean food is nasty guys!!!!! [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] don't change at all, yawmwen

Had sushi once. It was alright. I've never really liked the taste of fish. I'll never eat the blue fin tuna sushi though.

[QUOTE=J!NX;35876356]lol yeah clean food is nasty guys!!!!! [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] don't change at all, yawmwen[/QUOTE] Why not go down a bottle of ammonia and see how that feels dude. [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] I bet you will feel clean as shit.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;35876437]Why not go down a bottle of ammonia and see how that feels dude. [editline]8th May 2012[/editline] I bet you will feel clean as shit.[/QUOTE] except the ammonia clears out completely once you cook it. That's [I]COMPLETELY[/i] different [QUOTE=zombini;35872851]Actually, there's nothing wrong with pink slime, the ammonia in it actually cleanses the meat and prevents you from getting sick. When you cook the meat, the ammonia compounds break down and the ammonia evaporates.[/QUOTE]