The Art and Science of Safe Sushi

In this week’s Ask the Expert, Registered Dietitian Janet Helm offered tips on how to safely introduce your toddler to sushi. She emphasized the need to be careful about bacteria, mercury contamination and parasites. Here are a few additional tips for you to enjoy the experience of sushi with your toddlers -

1. When eating out, always select a reputable sushi restaurants in your area. Read their reviews and check their safety records. There should be a restaurant food safety inspection program in your state which may publish their inspection records online. As an example, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation provides the food inspetion records of hotels and restaurants on their website. There should also be a way for you to register a complaint if you have a bad experience eating at a restaurant.
2. Ask questions about how the raw fish and rice is handled at these restaurants. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that raw fish needs to be frozen at -4 °F for 7 days or -35 °F for 15 hours to make sure that it does not contain any parasites. Rice should be prepared with rice vinegar so its pH is below 4.5. Overall sanitation, handling and hygiene practices of these restaurants should be of high quality. They need to also make sure that there is no cross contamination between raw and cooked fish.
3. When buying prepared sushi from a supermarket, follow the same advice and ask questions about the fish, rice and how it is made. You may find labels such as “sushi grade” or “sashimi grade” fish, but make sure to ask how the fish was frozen since these are not standard labels.
4. The best option may be to make sushi at home! You could try making a sushi roll without any raw fish and use vegetables or fully cooked fish instead. You can even involve your kids in a sushi making project – I am sure they will have a lot of fun playing with the sticky koshihikari rice! There are many instructional videos on making sushi at home; here is a good one:
   
   We haven’t tried making sushi at home so far, but after watching this video, I am planning to give it a try!
5. Learn to recognize the symptoms of illness from fish parasites. It can range from mild discomfort, nausea, cramps or diarrhea. In some extreme cases, the parasites can enter the stomach or gut lining which can cause severe abdominal inflammation and pain. Seek immediate medical help in such situations.
6. Like any other new food, it is better to go slow and introduce sushi in small quantities. Try to make it fun and interesting. The taste of soy sauce, wasabi and Japanese ginger may be strange at first, but in the long run your child may learn to like it. Eating fish, raw or cooked, has many benefits and if done right, you can safely enjoy sushi with your kids over a lifetime.

Have you tried sushi with your toddlers? Share your experiences and tips in your comments below.

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Tagged as: Fish, food safety, Home Cooking, Parasites, Sushi