The Raw Truth - True World Foods

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March 25, 2006
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Gassed tuna. Frozen salmon. The sushi business is booming -but diners don't always know what they're getting. Where the
fish really comes from, and how to spot the good stuff.
BY G. BRUCE KNECHT
March 25, 2006; Page P1
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At Tama Sushi on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, Calif., chef
Katsu Michite serves raw fish that some consider among the best in
town. It's $12 for two small pieces of bluefin tuna. Just down the road is Todai, a big sushi chain
where $14 buys a full lunchtime buffet, including all the fish you can eat.
Despite the big price gap, the two restaurants have something in common: They get much of their
fish from the same supplier.
Sushi -- one of the fastest-growing segments of the
restaurant business -- is now firmly in the mainstream,
served everywhere from military canteens to 7-Elevens,
and in all 50 states. Even Tony Soprano and his wife,
Carmela, ditched the scaloppine for yellowtail in the
season opener of "The Sopranos."
But at a time when other kinds of restaurants are
inundating diners with details about where their pork
chops spent their youth and what farmer harvested their
veggies, sushi is curiously out of step. Even at top-ofthe-line establishments, menus rarely say anything about
where the fish comes from.
It turns out just a FISH TRAILS
few suppliers
• Look behind the menu at 50 major sushi
stock most of
places1 around the U.S.
the sushi
restaurants in
any given city. One of the more popular cuts, yellowtail,
almost always traces its origins to the same fish farms in
Japan regardless of price. "Yellowtail is yellowtail," says
Choi Pak, a wholesaler who supplies Tama Sushi and
Todai.
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WSJ.com - The Raw Truth
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Even in the same restaurant, quality can vary. Spicy tuna
rolls, another staple, are often a way to disguise less-than-top-quality tuna. Other servings of tuna,
whether on a bed of rice or as sashimi, may not be as fresh as they look; its rich red color may
indicate it was caught days ago -- or that it was "gassed" to give it a rosy glow. And even fish
described as fresh may well have been in the freezer for a while, which the Food and Drug
Administration recommends to kill parasites.
Restaurateurs and distributors say the quality of fish varies -- and prices reflect that. When a
bluefin loin arrives at a wholesaler, for instance, it is examined and priced based largely on its
color and fat content. This process is inherently more subjective than, say, pricing beef, which has
already been given a grade by inspectors from the Department of Agriculture.
To some extent, sushi restaurants put their faith in their suppliers, trusting that higher prices
correspond to higher quality. A small number of high-end places with agents who buy for them at
markets in Japan rely on the judgment of their buyers. Some chefs, like Mr. Michite of Tama
Sushi, go to their fishmongers every morning and pick out the fish they want. "Experience decides
everything," says Mr. Michite. "I've been doing this for 45 years." At Todai, a spokesman says the
company orders by fax and sends back fish deemed inadequate. He adds that Todai benefits
pricewise by ordering in volume.
The number of Japanese restaurants, nearly all of which serve sushi, more than doubled in the past
decade, to 9,182 last year, up from 4,086, according to Japanese Food Trade News, while sushi
sales hit $2.8 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2000. Technomic, a food industry research and
consulting firm, expects growth to continue at 10% to 20% annually for the next five years -- by
contrast, the overall restaurant industry is growing at 5% a year. Mr. Pak, the Los Angeles fish
wholesaler, says he's selling 30% more sushi than he did a decade ago; it's the fastest-growing
segment of his business.
Sushi owes some of that popularity to the perception that
it's healthy. But tuna, perhaps the most popular sushi fish,
may contain high levels of mercury. "A lot of people
think sushi is a health food, but it isn't if you eat tuna
sushi twice a week," says Eli Saddler, a public health
analyst with GotMercury.org2, an environmental
advocacy group that tested sushi from five restaurants in
California earlier this year. Mercury, which occurs both
naturally and from industrial sources, is absorbed by
marine food chains. It's most concentrated in top
predators, such as swordfish, shark and tuna. In
GotMercury's test, 25% of the tuna samples were close to
the FDA's limit of 1 part per million; 75% had more than
0.5 part per million of mercury, the maximum many
countries consider safe. Every sample exceeded Japan's
0.4 parts-per-million standard.
Coverage of the test has generated controversy in
California, where fish restaurants and retailers that
employ more than 10 people are required to post
warnings about mercury. Activists say the warnings
should be nationwide and the FDA should do much more
TIP SHEET: A DINER'S GUIDE
Sushi experts say consumers can do several
things to ensure that they eat the good stuff:
NEVER ON SUNDAY: Most restaurants do not
receive fresh fish on the weekend, so it is
certain to be less fresh than on other days. In
some places, Monday is even worse.
NEATNESS COUNTS: Look in the sushi case
at the bar. If pieces aren't wrapped and are
touching one another or the sides of the case,
says Sushi Sasabune chef Nobi Kusuhara,
"they aren't really taking care of the fish very
well."
EXPECT VARIETY: Offerings that change
according to the season usually mean the chef
takes pride in his selections.
GOOD LOOKS: Fresh fish will look shiny. Tuna
should not be dark or too red. "When the color
is red, almost as if it's been painted, ask if it has
been smoked," says Mr. Kasuhara. If so, "it
won't taste good and could be spoiled inside."
FOLLOW THE CROWDS: Unpopular
restaurants may not have enough turnover to
have fresh fish.
SAY NO TO SPICY SUSHI ROLLS: The spices
are often intended to disguise inferior fish.
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testing.
Understanding the sushi hierarchy can make for smarter ordering. For example, chefs often
reserve the best-quality seafood for sashimi, which is served without a bed of rice. Spicy tuna rolls
are often at the bottom of the hierarchy.
And that healthy red color that makes the tuna look as if were swimming an hour ago? This may
be the color of tuna that has been gassed, or as it is sometimes called, "smoked." After the fish is
cut into loins or filets and before it's frozen, it's exposed to carbon monoxide, which binds with
hemoglobin to prevent the flesh from turning from red to brown to gray.
Joe Gumpel of Gotham Seafood, a major New York distributor, says he sells gassed fish, mostly
to cruise-line customers, but says, "It misrepresents the product. You can't tell when it was caught,
and you don't know that it went into a factory for enhancements."
In our survey of 50 top sushi restaurants (see chart3), single
pieces of yellowtail ranged from $2 at Suehiro in Salt Lake
City to $5 at Morimoto. But unlike tuna, which comes
from all over the world and varies in color and fat content,
yellowtail generally used in sushi is quite uniform. Chefs
and vendors say that nearly all yellowtail used in sushi is
farm-raised in Japan. Star sushi chef Masaharu Morimoto,
who recently expanded from Philadelphia to New York,
agrees, but says that his is fresher than other restaurants
may be able to buy because he gets shipments from Japan
four times a week. (He says he also uses buri, a kind of
wild yellowtail, on the rare occasions when he can get it.)
Sushi (clockwise from top left): Sea eel, snow
crab, Penshell scallop, golden-spotted sardine
Then there's that omnipresent modifier "fresh." Most sushi
fish has been frozen at some point. The state of the art is
flash freezing, in which the fish are frozen so quickly in super-cold chillers that the moisture in its
flesh does not crystallize and the fish isn't mushy when thawed. Kee Chan, the owner of Heat, a
sleek, high-end sushi place in Chicago, says all of the fish he serves is fresh, although he also
acknowledges that much of it has been flash frozen. "Once it gets to us," he says, "it's fresh."
To confuse things even more, experts say that some seafood that's been frozen is superior. "I've
seen an assembly line where eels are alive at the start of the process, then stunned, filleted,
vacuum-packed and frozen," says Robert Wholey, who owns Pittsburgh's biggest seafood
distributor. "That's as fresh as you can get."
One way to ensure quality, according to some chefs, is to order direct from Japan. New York's
Masa, with its $350 prix-fixe dinner, is generally regarded as the country's most expensive
restaurant. Its chef-owner, Masayoshi Takayama, has what amounts to a personal fish shopper in
Japan. An agent buys for him at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo and directly from fishermen at the
port of Chiba, then rushes the fish to the airport to catch a nonstop flight to New York, JAL's
flight 006. As soon as the fish clears Customs, the driver of the van who will bring it to Masa calls
with an estimate for his arrival time.
Mr. Takayama claims fish caught near Japan feed on superior plankton. "Good plankton is as
important to fish as soil is to crops," he says. That's "pure nonsense," says Daniel Pauly, the
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WSJ.com - The Raw Truth
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director of the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre. Still, the quality of the fish sold
at the Tsukiji market is widely admired by industry insiders. They point to the enormous volume
of fish sold there (about 2,000 pounds of marine products every day), the high standards of the
domestic market, the exacting way fish are butchered and handled, the temperature controls and
the hygienic standards.
That's why sushi chefs like Chris Kinjo of Atlanta's MF Sushibar buy much of their fish in Japan
and air-freight it to the U.S. at a cost of $3 to $4 a pound. A broker working for Mr. Kinjo shops
at Tsukiji and ships fish on a nonstop Delta flight to Atlanta three times a week. New York's Jewel
Bako also gets most of its fish directly from Japan. So do both branches of Morimoto.
But the fish at most sushi restaurants arrives by routes so complicated that even many chefs admit
that they do not know exactly where it came from. Most acquire their fish from several local
suppliers. Some are affiliates of large importers like New Jersey-based True World Foods, which
has branches across the country, and Yama Seafood, which supplies 300 restaurants, mostly in the
Northeast. Other wholesalers are local businesses. All typically buy fish that comes from many
places around the globe.
Some of the tuna sold at the Atlanta affiliate of True World Foods, for example, is caught in the
Pacific, landed in Southeast Asia, then shipped to Latin America enroute to Atlanta; salmon is
flown in from fish farms in Chile or Scotland. Long Island-based importer Bob Sedano, who
supplies tuna to Gotham Seafood and several other New York wholesalers, says he buys fish
"opportunistically" from all around the world.
So apart from that Japanese-farmed yellowtail and California sea urchins, you can rarely be sure
where the fish on your vinegared rice has been swimming. But you can count on the rice: Nearly
all of it is grown in California.
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114324388013407970.html
Hyperlinks in this Article:
(1) http://online.wsj.com/documents/wsj_pt-sushi3.pdf
(2) http://www.gotmercury.org
(3) http://online.wsj.com/documents/wsj_pt-sushi3.pdf
Copyright 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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3/25/2006
Fish Trails
CITY/RESTAURANT
HAMACHI1
PER PIECE
To see where sushi’s most important raw ingredient comes from, we asked 50 top sushi
restaurants in 10 cities where they get their fish. Here’s a sampling of what we found.
— Jessie Knadler
WHERE FISH COMES FROM2
COMMENTS
Sushi
Primer
ATLANTA
$3.00
Atlanta branch of importer-distributor True World Foods
Bluefin tuna comes from Boston.
MF Sushibar
3.00
80% from Tsujiki fish market in Tokyo and air-freighted
Sea urchin bought in San Diego by an agent.
Nakato
4.00
Major importer-distributors Yama Seafood, True World Foods
Serves kanpachi, which is popular in Japan but less so in the U.S.
Nickiemoto’s Midtown
2.00
Four major wholesalers, including True World Foods in Atlanta
Half of fish is fresh, half is frozen.
Sushi Avenue
2.25
Shellfish and yellowtail from importer-wholesaler Nishimoto
Serves sea urchin, supplied by True World Foods.
Fortune Fish in Chicago, which has hired Japanese agents
Makes sashimi from fish in tanks under the sushi bar.
Hashiguchi
A look at some
popular sushi
CHICAGO
Heat
$4.00
CHERRY BLOSSOM
SNAPPER
Japonais
4.00
True World Foods, mostly imported from Japan
One of the few that serves wild hamachi.
Mirai Sushi
2.50
True World Foods, mostly imported from Japan
Fish from Japan takes 27 days to arrive, so it is frozen.
Sai Café
2.95
Mostly True World Foods and Yamasho
Chef says tuna is now harvested too young, so the flesh is very light.
Sushi Wabi
4.00
True World Foods and Fortune Fish
American-born sushi chefs work as a team, not under a Japanese chef.
An L.A. brokerage gets fish from Hawaii and the Northwest
Chef says Japanese fusion with other cuisines has helped popularize sushi.
FATTY TUNA
LAS VEGAS
Hyakumi, Caesars Pal.
$3.50
Shibuya, MGM Grand
4.50
Importers Hosoda, Los Angeles Fish, IMP
The restaurant says it flash freezes tuna and salmon for safety.
Shintaro, Bellagio
4.50
All fish flown in; won’t disclose vendors
Charges $80 a pound for live Australian lobster served as sashimi.
Sushi Fever
2.25
Showa Marine and IMP Nevada, both in Las Vegas
Most of the fish is from North America.
Sushi Roku, Caesars Pal.
3.50
True World Foods in Los Angeles, other L.A. brokers
Executive chef notes that tuna caught off Boston is auctioned in Japan.
Wholesalers International Marine Products, Los Angeles Fish
The first outpost of the Nobu Matsuhisa sushi empire, opened in 1987.
FLUKE
FRESHWATER EEL
LOS ANGELES
Matsuhisa
$2.75
R-23
5.00
Chef picks out fish each morning at L.A.’s wholesale fish market
Among its unusual sushi are halibut fin and needlefish.
Sushi Nozawa
4.50
Showa Marine and International Marine Products
Gets red snapper from New Zealand, albacore tuna from Canada.
Sushi Sasabune
4.50
Yellowtail from Japan every day, organic salmon from Boston
Chef-owner Nobi Kusuhara has run sushi restaurants for three decades.
Sushi Tenn
4.00
Chef selects fish daily at L.A.’s wholesale fish market
Serves fresh grated wasabi root, which some places reserve for VIPs.
GOLDEN-SPOTTED
SARDINE
JAPANESE WILD
GROUPER
MIAMI
Bond St. Lounge
$4.00
Importer-distributors True World Foods, Yama Seafood
The most popular item is spicy tuna roll.
Shibui
2.25
Yellowtail from Nishimoto Trading in Broward County, Fla.
“Customers like their sushi American-style: mayo and cream cheese.”
Shoji Sushi
4.50
All from True World Foods in Miami
Most fish is flash frozen.
Sushi Maki
3.00
True World Foods, Nishimoto Trading
Owner says diners are getting younger and more adventurous.
SushiSamba Dromo
4.00
True World Foods, dealers overseas and in Hawaii
The restaurant serves Latin-influenced sushi.
MACKEREL
NEW YORK
BondSt
$3.00
Geisha
Importer-distributors True World Foods, Yama Seafood
Sea Express in Brooklyn supplies big-eye tuna from South America.
5.00
Tsujiki market in Tokyo, True World Foods, Yama Seafood
Chef says he won’t use overfished varieties like swordfish.
Jewel Bako
4.50
Nearly all from Tsujiki market in Tokyo
Specialty is sea urchin, served live in the shell.
Morimoto
5.00
Tsujiki market, Yama Seafood
Fish is flown in from Japan four days a week, including Sunday.
Sushi Yasuda
3.50
Mr. Ishida, a local distributor
The most popular are otoro (fatty tuna) and kama toro (cheek of tuna).
RED SNAPPER
SALMON
PHILADELPHIA
$3.00
True World Foods in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Salmon is frozen briefly in a hospital-style chiller onsite to kill parasites.
Kisso Sushi Bar
3.50
True World Foods in New Jersey, local fish market
Mackerel and sea urchin have gotten more popular with patrons.
Morimoto
5.00
Agent buys at Tsukiji market in Tokyo; also Yama Seafood
Serves fresh grated wasabi rather than a paste from powder.
Osaka
3.00
Local fish from Samuels & Son Seafood in Philadelphia
Some fish is cured to kill remaining parasites and remove excess water.
Shiroi Hana Restaurant
2.75
Nishimoto Trading in New York, Samuels & Son Seafood
Some tuna comes from fish farms in Australia and Spain.
Ginza
$2.90
Sent overnight from International Marine Products in L.A.
Chefs come from Utah, including one of the few female sushi chefs.
Happy Sumo, Gateway
Tskija Market ,
Pacific Fishing
Delta Flight
from International Marine
Products
3.00
boat Mostly fresh,Japan
xxx to Atlanta
Bluefin
SEA EEL
(with shiitake
mushrooms, japanese
cucumber and baby
asparagus)
SALT LAKE CITY
U.S. Customs
Service
Refrigerator
MF Sushirolls.
Bar
Caters
to sushitruck
novices with 36 specialty
California-based IMP Foods, which is opening an outpost in Utah
Ichiban Sushi
4.00
Suehiro
Boat to
Plane to
(
Miami
Marine Products
in L.A
2.00
(
Panama International
Miami
Customs
Takashi
5.50
(
Recently purchased a 100-pound bluefin tuna from the coast of Italy.
Refrigerated
truck to Atlanta
SEA URCHIN
Uses octopus from South Africa, mackerel from New Zealand.
Several California distributors; won’t disclose vendors
Flies in kanpachi from Hawaii.
70% to 80% from Tsujiki market in Tokyo
Master sushi chef Takahashi says Alaskan salmon can be difficult to get.
SAN FRANCISCO
Anzu
TUNA
$3.00
Hana Japanese Rest.
2.50
Broker in San Francisco who buys from two markets in Japan
Carries 15 different kinds of fish a day, varying by season.
Kabuto
2.50
IMP Foods, sister firm of L.A.-based International Marine Products
Restaurant says 95% of fish is fresh.
Tuna and Mendocino
sea urchin
from wholesaler ABS
CAUGHT
SOLD
IMPORTED
CUSTOMS
2.15
FISH
Koo
Ozumo Restaurant
3.50
YELLOWTAIL
Kiyoshi
Hayakawa has been serving
sushi in California for 20 years.
LAND
TRANSPORTATION
DESTINATION
Local branch of True World Foods
Signature dish is baby sea eel dipped in ponzu sauce.
WASHINGTON
Kaz Sushi Bistro
$2.75
Yama Seafood, Samuels & Son Seafood in Philadelphia
M. Slavin & Sons supplies lobster from Maine and Canada.
Makoto
2.75
Yama Seafood, local fish from Jessup, Md., market
Said to be a favorite of Japanese diplomats.
Sushi-Ko
3.00
Six suppliers, including a fisherman-broker in Chatham, Mass.
Owner says he’d love to see more demands for white fish sushi.
Sushi Taro
2.85
Hamachi from Yama Seafood, mackerel from True World Foods
Owner prefers wasabi inside sushi for cleaner flavors.
Tako Grill
4.00
Most from importer-distributor Yama Seafood
Gets fish deliveries Monday through Saturday.
Prices are per piece.
Servings are often two
pieces.
2
Vendors listed are among
those mentioned by the
restaurants.
MF Sushibar
A Tale of
Two Atlanta
Restaurants
A few high-end sushi
restaurants, like
MF Sushibar in Atlanta,
have agents who buy
fish in Japan. Many
TOKYO
more, like Atlanta’s
Nakato,
rely on
importers
and local
brokers
who handle
fish
from all
over.
2 Tsujiki wholesale fish
market in Tokyo
1
3
1
Fish caught in Pacific
1
2
Purchased by agent at Tsujiki market in Tokyo
3
Flown on Delta to Atlanta airport
4
Cleared by Customs Service
5
Delivered by truck to the restaurant
2
3
RHODE IS.
4
4
CALIFORNIA.
Customs Service
clears fish
5
ATLANTA
SCOTLAND
MIAMI
1
Nakato
True World Foods,
a branch of a
nationwide
importer-distributor
1
PANAMA
2
3
4
Tuna caught in Pacific, landed in Panama, flown to Miami, cleared by
Customs Service, flown to Atlanta, trucked to True World Foods
Salmon farmed in Scotland, flown to Miami, cleared by
Customs Service, trucked to True World Foods
Fluke from Rhode Island flown to Atlanta, trucked to True World Foods
Sea urchins from California flown to Atlanta airport, trucked to
True World Foods