Interestingly, I've spent a not inconsiderable amount of time in the past
month or two trying to find out the answer to this exact same question. I
have come up with several different answers, so I think the "official"
definition depends on whom you're talking to.
Initially, I researched this question on the website of the United States
FDA. There are some regs and guidance about qualifying certain types of
fish as sashimi grade, but as best I could tell, they relate only to fresh
water species which have different and more potential biological hazards
than salt water specices. If memory serves, these regs require freezing the
fish below specified temperatures for specified periods of time in order to
insure that product that will be eaten uncooked is sanitary.
Secondly, I inquired of my sister-in-law, who is a salesman for a fresh fish
distributor which sells to premium restaurants. Her response was that
sashimi refers to the very highest quality fish: "the best of the best."
Lastly, I met only the other day with a supplier of seafood (wild caught
ocean fish) in Vietnam. This company labels as "sashimi" grade, fish that
once caught is immediately frozen on board at or below minus 55 degrees
Celsius and kept at such low temperatures continuously.
It's my suspicion that the second and third definitions are essentially
equivalent, though on their face, they seem to describe different things.
If I learn any more about this, I'll let you know.
Sincerely,
Robert Greer
Robert Greer
Rushmar Trading Company LLC
Tel (US): 1-713-350-6025
Mobile (US): 1-713-594-4996
Mobile (VN): 84-(0)90-966-7379
EFax: 1-713-583-9667
email: greer@RushmarTrading.com
_____
From: owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf
Of Janani Tulasendrapuram
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2006 10:17 PM
To: seafood@ucdavis.edu
Subject: sashimi question
Hi,
Good morning! I am hoping someone on this listserv will be able to answer
the following question:
-Is there an "official" definition of sashimi grade (mainly for tuna)?
Thanks,
Janani Tulasendrapuram
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