How Safe is Your Sushi? Part Three: Bacteria and Germs!

By Ross A. Christensen

 

Uh oh, my ability to be nonchalant and glib about people’s concerns over the safety of their meal is handicapped here. If you’ve read my previous two articles on How Safe is Your Sushi, Mercury & Parasites, you’ll have noticed that I’m not terribly concerned about those two topics that some consider big issues. But I think there is a real chance of danger with this subject. Oh no, someone help me!

 

The fact is that if a sushi bar isn’t clean and sanitary, patrons can easily get sick from bacteria and germs. There are dozens of different types of nasties that can pop up, and most can be prevented and contained easily by the sushi bar staff. There are a couple of things that are beyond the sushi bar’s control, however. Here’s an example.

 

To give you an idea of how idiotic our government can be about some issues, let me share with you a true story. The names have been changed to protect the moronic. Oyster farms harvest their oysters once each week for sale. Each time that an oyster farm harvests, they take samples of their products and send them to the government to be tested for safe levels of… whatever. Samples of the oysters are delivered to the government testers, and the same day the bulk of the harvest is delivered to the local restaurants. One week later, the government test results are available and the cycle begins again.

 

Now here in rural California, as you drive through the countryside you will see ponds with fountains bubbling away in the middle of them like some sort of Zen retreat for the cows. These deceptively serene ponds are where the farmhouses’ toilets empty into and the aeration of the fountain helps kill the nasty bacteria that are swimming around. These ponds will occasionally malfunction or overflow into the ocean, and fishing in that area is closed off. So far, everything makes sense, yes? Stay with me, it’s about to get stupid.

 

One day one of these ponds accidentally malfunctioned, overflowed, and emptied into the sea near an oyster farm I was associated with, and the oysters were contaminated. This event was unknown to the oyster farmer, and on harvesting day the oysters went off as usual to the government to be tested. Also as usual, the oysters from that week’s harvest went out to local restaurants as well. Sure enough, the government came back a week later to say the oysters had been contaminated and must be recalled. Now, this recall demand is utterly ridiculous; the oysters went to the restaurants last week and by this time they have all been consumed. But the government didn’t care, they demanded those oysters back. Most of the other area oyster farms just pulled new oysters off of their farms and said, “Here they are, yeah, we got them back.” The government agent was satisfied and the farmers put their “recalled” oysters back in the water. One oyster farm (the one I was familiar with) stood their ground, told the truth, and said, “The oysters have been eaten and can’t be returned.” So the government fined them for the violation. The testing process does nothing for the safety of the consumer since the oysters can’t be tested in a timely manner, and it’s impossible to retrieve dangerous oysters before consumption. Essentially what the people in the government are doing is using a weather report that is nine days old in order to tell you that you should have carried an umbrella a week ago.

 

So let’s get to specific types of problems. Hepatitis is a danger at any restaurant if a cook or server is infected, but this isn’t a problem exclusive to sushi restaurants. Vibrio vulnificus is a bacteria found in saltwater (and is related to cholera) and can be contracted by eating raw oysters which then causes diarrhea, stomach pains, vomiting, and skin blistering. Hurricane Katrina caused an outbreak of vibrio that many of the refugees were treated for, but it was contracted by wading through infected waters, not by consuming contaminated seafood. Vibrio, like many other types of bacteria, isn’t as dangerous when consumed as much as they are if contracted through the skin while swimming or wading in infected waters. Obviously, that needn’t be a concern for the sushi bar patron.

 

Fecal coliform, streptococci, and Escherichia coli (the infamous E. coli) are bacteria that come from many sources, but the most noticeable and common source is from raw sewage. Most of these critters are already found to some degree inside every human being, but are safely contained in our intestines that can hold them in check. Preventing the transference of these bacteria is as easy as frequent hand washing and cleaning work surfaces with soap and water. Infection causes gastrointestinal distress and multiple other complications, but luckily they are bacteriological weaklings and easily fall in the presence of antibiotics.

 

Listeria is most commonly found in farm animal products and is rarely a problem for the sushi bar. Salmonella is also not a common seafood-type infection.

 

The very nature of sushi helps to combat contracting any kind of germs or bacteria. The rice in your sushi is made with vinegar which, although it is not at antibacterial strength is also combined with wasabi, which is a natural antibacterial. The sushi chef regularly dips his/her hands in tezu, a vinegar water mixture that not only keeps the sushi rice from sticking to his hands but is strong enough to be antibacterial. Just by watching your sushi chef you will notice that, by and large, they are very fastidious about their station, and you will get a good illustration about the cleanliness of the rest of restaurant. Yes, sickness does occasionally occur at a sushi bar, but usually at a sushi bar that people were wary of in the first place and that have been fined before. Sushi bars are like people: if you aren’t comfortable with them stay away even if they say they have changed.

 

An urban myth asserts that you shouldn’t eat fish on Tuesday because that fish is left over from last week’s fish order, and therefore is close to spoiling if it’s not already doing so. This isn’t backed up by any facts, only anecdotes, and since all sushi fish in the U.S. are frozen the idea that all of that fish gets thawed on Wednesday doesn’t seem likely or prudent. In Japan, the fish is typically bought daily and true sushi connoisseurs eat sushi for lunch since at dinner it wouldn’t be as fresh. This is only a gastronome’s desire for the freshest fish possible, not a person worried about the wholesomeness of the fish.

 

The commercial freezing method used on sushi-type fish kills all germs and bacteria (and parasites; see How Safe is Your Sushi Part Two - Parasites) that could come from the sea into the sushi bar. Now-a-days with the quality of nitrogen blast frozen fish, infection is almost not an issue. The most likely seafood to be contaminated would be oysters, which aren’t a common sushi ingredient. Basic restaurant sanitation practices control any germs and bacteria that might be carried by the staff. Sushi bars also tend to be much more conscientious about sanitation than your average restaurant, almost guaranteeing your safety.

 

Of all of the possible risks involved with sushi, germs and bacteria are probably the greatest, but are also the most controllable by the sushi bar itself. The terrific thing about the danger of bacteria and germs in the sushi bar is that you, the discerning patron, can look around and notice for yourself if the sushi bar isn’t clean, the staff is dirty, or they just don’t seem to care about sanitation. Luckily, the smallest dangers have the largest warning signs.

 

 

Copyright 2008 Ross A. Christensen