Many of us love eating sushi but the results of recent investigations may quell your appetite for this delicacy.
Investigators from the news show, Inside Edition, ordered sushi from 25 sushi restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles. They wrapped up samples of the sushi and sent them to a lab for DNA testing. The results; 68 percent of the samples turned out to be a different fish than they ordered.
Every time they ordered white tuna in New York City, the samples turned up to be a different type of fish. Escolar was the most popular substitute. This fish is sometimes called the “Ex-Lax Fish” because it can be hard to digest and cause intestinal problems.
When they ordered red snapper, 60 percent of the time another fish was substituted, usually with tilapia which is a less expensive, farm grown fish.
In another investigation, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office convicted the operators of eight sushi restaurants for serving lobster rolls that didn’t have any lobster in them. DNA testing revealed the substitution of various types of less expensive seafood, such as crawfish or Pollock. These restaurant owners received misdemeanor charges, although the charges could have been elevated to felonies if someone became ill or had an allergic reaction due to the substitution.
Next time you go out for sushi, you’ll have to ask yourself what kind of fish is really on your plate. Odds are, it won’t be what you ordered. If you really want sushi, you may have to play it safe and order something that is harder to fudge, such as salmon or shrimp.
