Japanese Stores Avoid Raw Bonito amid Parasite Poisoning Fears

May 27, 2018

Tokyo- Sashimi slices of fresh bonito from waters around Japan are a seasonal fixture of spring and early summer at fish stores across the nation.

This year, however, raw bonito has been almost entirely replaced by thawed frozen bonito and processed fish including "tataki," or bonito with its surface seared, with retailers on the defensive due to an outbreak of parasite poisoning.

Appreciated by Japanese consumers since the 1603-1868 Edo period of the Tokugawa shogunate, raw bonito is not readily available for the dining table at present.

Catches of "hatsugatsuo," the first bonito of the season, increased early this month around the Izu island chain south of Tokyo, with Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market receiving steady shipments of about 350,000 tons per day, slightly lower than a year earlier.

Prices have been at the lowest level in the past several years, at some 400 yen per kilogram for small bonito from Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan.

These factors would normally lead to brisk sales.

But from early spring this year, food poisoning from Anisakis parasitic nematodes has been reported in many parts of Japan, prompting an alarmed health ministry to issue a warning on its website.

As Anisakis can be destroyed by freezing or heating, many mass-retailers have shifted from raw bonito to thawed frozen fish, in order to address consumer concerns.

"Any complaints over parasites could lose our store the trust of customers," a major supermarket operator in the Tokyo metropolitan area said.

Thawed frozen bonito retails for around 700 yen per pack for two to three people, similar or slightly more to the price of raw fish.

Advances in processing and freezing techniques mean improved taste and texture. But an official of a wholesaler at the Tsukiji market said, "It's no match for raw bonito, which features sweetness and beautiful color."

Except for the parasite problem, fresh raw bonito is superior to frozen or processed fish for retailers and consumers alike.

Bonito fishing grounds will shift to waters off the Sanriku coast in northeastern Japan in summer and autumn, marking the arrival of high season for "modorikatsuo," or autumn bonito, known for fatty meat.

Little prospect is in sight for a recovery of raw bonito sales, however.

"It's important to take measures against parasites, but an excessively sensitive response would alienate consumers from bonito," a concerned Tsukiji wholesaler said. Jiji Press