http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...ol=968793972154
Sushi rules leave chefs feeling raw
Regulation takes eateries by surprise
Health inspectors give 3-month break
TANYA TALAGA AND GREG QUILL
STAFF REPORTERS
Toronto sushi chefs and restaurant owners face tough new health rules banning the use of fresh raw fish.
But city health inspectors are giving them a three-month reprieve before they start enforcing the regulations requiring the fish to be frozen first.
Provincial health authorities said the regulations were not prompted by any immediate health threat, but, after a lengthy review process, were brought about in the interest of public health.
The change took place at the beginning of September to bring Ontario up to national and U.S. health codes, said Dr. Karim Kurji, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health.
But the changes have created a flap in a city that loves its sushi.
Gus Nikoletsos, owner of the City Fish Market at Dufferin St. and Lawrence Ave., said, "Nobody's happy about this, not the restaurants, not the customers, not the suppliers."
And some infectious disease experts questioned the rationale behind the move.
Dr. Jay Keystone, of the University Health Network's tropical disease unit, said he doesn't understand the reason for the changes, adding severe sickness from a parasite coming from raw sushi is rather rare.
"Although, I do believe in preventive medicine and public health, I'm not sure why this would be a priority," he said.
The public health department has done a great job in our province, he said. "But this particular issue seems to be a non-issue for a parasite ... that we almost never see."
Freezing raw fish is an effective way to remove parasites.
According to Health Canada, Ontario is the first province to take this kind of a step. The Canadian Food Inspection System recommended the changes to the handling of raw fish in the late 1990s, said Health Canada spokesperson Margot Geduld. "Each province can decide to incorporate the recommendations as they see fit," she said.
Worldwide, there are 50 million people with infections attributed to eating raw fish, explained Kurji. In Japan, you actually see a condition called anisakiasis, associated with eating raw fish. The condition can be quite serious, Kurji said, causing victims "to roll about with pain, with nausea, vomiting, etc. One would probably require endoscopic intervention to remove the worms."
"In Quebec, we had an outbreak in 1996 where 17 people were affected from eating raw river fish," he said.
However, infectious disease experts in Toronto can't recall any documented cases of people becoming seriously ill with parasites after eating raw sushi.
Keystone said he can't recall any problems in Toronto arising from raw fish used in sushi. "It baffles me this is an issue when we've never seen a case."
Raw seafood can make you sick, but it is "really unusual" to get a life-threatening illness from sushi, said Dr. Allison McGeer, a microbiologist and infectious disease consultant at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Across Toronto yesterday, sushi chefs and restaurant owners whose menus feature raw fish, sashimi, fish tartare, ceviche, cold-smoked fish, and other uncooked seafood items — food favoured by a huge cross-section of the city's diners — were angered over the changes.
"It's the biggest problem I've faced in 20 years in the business, absolutely overwhelming," said John Lee, owner and chef at Omi, a popular Japanese restaurant on Church St.
"The freezing and thawing process would cause discoloration and ruin the taste and texture of the fish, since the jagged ice particles that melt during the thawing process would leave most seafood spongy, sitting in smelly juice," he said.
All fish would be affected, Lee continued, though oilier varieties such as tuna and salmon would stand up better to freezing than most white fish.
The regulation changes seemed to catch everyone — diners, restaurant owners, even Toronto Public Health officials — by surprise.
Jim Chan, manager of the Toronto Public Health food safety program, said that's why city restaurant owners are getting a three-month reprieve before health officials start enforcing the rules.
"For the first three months, we are doing an education phase, in which during a routine inspection the inspector will introduce this information to the operators," said Chan.
He said restaurant operators could handle the change by dealing with suppliers who will give them a document or invoice certifying the fish has been frozen according to regulation.
George Jung, owner of Pisces Seafood, a high-end fishmonger on Yonge St. near Rosedale, said the problem is not with the freshness of most of the raw fish that's sold in Toronto restaurants, but with the way it is handled, cut and transported.
"There are so many sushi restaurants in this city now, a couple on every block, and so few chefs who are properly trained," he said. "Freezing the fish will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem. It can be frozen and improperly defrosted, then handled and cut by untrained or mediocre chefs who haven't taken proper hygiene precautions. That's the real issue. I've seen tuna cut and filleted on the back of a truck in a dirty alley behind a restaurant.
"That's where the trouble starts."
Additional articles by Greg Quill
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