It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got Death's Sting
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed May 07, 2008 at 05:44:36 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
From bungee jumping to all sorts of extreme sports -- people do crazy things because the thrill achieved by risking one's life makes the experience worth it. Would the experience still be worth it if the risk were removed? Is it even the same experience? These questions are being raised in Japan by a group of merchants involved in the fugu trade. Put quite plainly, if you eat a dish of fugu or puffer fish which hasn't been prepared properly, you can die. But now they're selling non-poisonous fugu. The merchants involved in selling the toxic versions are upset at the potential loss of business. They also pose the question of whether living a risk-free life is a life at all.
Hisashi Matsumura, president of the Shimonoseki Fugu Association (and Veep of the national association), blanches at the notion of the "new fugu" being mass produced. The new fish is farm-raised without a liver producing deadly toxins and ending up on restaurant menus in Japan and abroad. Matsumura says his association will fight to maintain the ban on the sale of fugu livers, even the new non-toxic kind. "We're not engaging in this irrelevant discussion" said Matsumura. Not so irrelevant is the loss in income to Matsumura and the rest of the Shimonoseki fugu industry (which controls about half of the market). Actually what is at issue here is the liver of the fish, as that organ has been banned for consumption in Japan since the 1970s. The market for the toxin-free fugu is growing as many tout the delicacy known as fugu foie gras (which would have to be made from the liver). Part of the allure of the toxin-rich fish is undoubtedly the tingly sensation associated with eating a serving as well as the satisfaction of having cheated the devil.
The thing that makes fugu so lethal is the tetrodotoxin manufactured in the fish's liver. Ultimately, trace amounts of this poison will be lodged in its skin, blood and ovaries. If the fish is not properly prepared one bite could send the diner to the hereafter. Aspiring fugu chefs must train for years and then must eat their own preparation before they ply their trade. A good number of these aspiring chefs pay the price for being a bit sloppy in their preparation.
Tomao Noguchi, a leading marine toxin expert who helped develop the non-toxic fugu says the Shimonoseki group is trying to keep the fish liver illegal to "protect their vested interests" and will oppose it for "a long, long time." What the new type of fugu has done is to take the "mystery" or "romance" out of eating what might potentially be your last supper. The unspoken question is will the going rate of (US)$300 a serving be justified if the diner doesn't put his life on the line by eating it?
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