What exactly makes some fish "Sushi Grade"?
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3 Answers
"Sushi grade" means that it is safe to prepare and eat raw. In order to do that, it must be frozen to kill any parasites. That means it either has to be:
- Frozen at -20° C (-4° F) for 7 days; or
- Frozen at -35° C (-31° F - "flash frozen") for 15 hours.
There aren't any official regulations about the fish itself or its quality, and most sushi/sashimi distributors have much more stringent rules of their own beyond the freezing guarantee.
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1Interestingly (if you'll accept anecdotal evidence), the few sushi chefs that I've gotten a chance to ask this question told me they buy most fish fresh with no freezing involved. Commented Mar 7, 2014 at 20:03
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1No, they were very clear that there was no freezing involved, by them or anyone else. Commented Mar 8, 2014 at 16:00
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5The figure quoted are not a global standard, most likely the USA FDA standard. Many countries around the world use fresh, unfrozen fish which has been inspected by hand/eye to confirm it of good quality. Unless you really trust your supplier, or catch it yourself, use the frozen product!– TFDCommented Feb 1, 2015 at 21:57
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2@TFD If that's true then I'd certainly agree with your recommendation. A visual inspection is not going to confirm or deny the presence of parasites.– AaronutCommented Feb 3, 2015 at 5:27
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3Again, depends where you live. Out of the tropics, fish parasites and diseases are generally easier to spot, or not so common or dangerous. Salt water low order fish are generally safer than freshwater or high order fish. I live in country with a large culture of eating hand caught fresh fish in various raw states. The fish parasite food poisoning statistic are near nil. Ciguatera from the northern Pacific Islands is more common, and freezing or cooking wont help that one!– TFDCommented Feb 3, 2015 at 5:48
There is no real definition of 'sushi grade' fish. It's purely a marketing term to imply a higher quality piece of fish.
There are some actions that should be done for tuna (really for all fish, but especially for tuna) when they are caught, such as bleeding them immediately, destroying the neural canal, reducing the temperature of the fish immediately, etc.
Here's a blog post on the seven different ways to kill/fillet fish and how those ways affect the taste of the meat.
answered Jul 12, 2010 at 12:57
To quote this FAQ:
The only concern any inspectors have is referred to as the parasite destruction guarantee, which is accomplished by ‘freezing and storing seafood at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 7 days (total time), or freezing at -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid and storing at -31°F (-35°C) or below for 15 hours, or freezing at -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid and storing at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 24 hours’ which is sufficient to kill parasites. [...] This means that, aside from the FDA recommendations and local Health Department requirements, there are no laws or recommendations for "sushi/sashimi grade" fish. It is no more than a marketing term.
[...] In the U.S. parasite destruction is required for those species where that hazard is identified but you’ll find that most chefs will claim that they use "fresh" salmon and other products. [...]
The term "fresh" for sushi fish has been linked to higher quality in the minds of many consumers and therefore the restaurants use this as a selling point even though the product may have been previously frozen (usually aboard the fishing vessel) and serving certain species without proper freezing is against regulations - See more at: http://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-sashimi-info/sushi-grade-fish/#sthash.rCOSqanN.dpuf
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16Needs more than just a link - if that site goes away, we're left with just a dead URL. Commented Sep 23, 2010 at 2:49