CUCINA GIAPPONESE E SICUREZZA ALIMENTARE: rischi e vantaggi per la salute del consumatore

Japanese cooking has been for long time influenced by a subsistence economy. A typical Japanese meal is composed by fish and shellfish often served with steamed rice and seaweeds, and then enriched with soy beans, fruit and vegetables. Sushi and Sashimi are the two most ancient and widespread Japanese recipes. Sushi is probably born in the 7th century, but the actual recipe was at first created in 1820. During the economic boom of the '80s the Japanese culture reached Europe and the USA, and nowadays has created a real cooking style. The actual sushi is composed by raw fish, rice cooked in rice vinegar, sugar, salt and a typical seaweed called Nori. Sashimi, on the other side, is exclusively made by raw fish and shellfish, with no other ingredients. Recently the Japanese cooking has become famous in Italy too, and the first sushi bars and restaurants have been created; but, real Japanese cooks are only available in the big cities, while most part of the Japanese restaurants are managed by the Chinese . Unfortunately Chinese cooking is totally different from the Japanese one, consisting almost completely in cooked and fried dishes. On top of that, sushi is often served on conveyor belts that runs for hours at room temperature, not respecting the cold chain. Eating raw fish can be therefore very dangerous: it can contain a parasite called Anisakis that can affect human beings causing intestinal desease that can result in bowel perforation. In order to consume raw fish in a safe way, it is necessary to freeze it at -20°C for 24 hours at least. Other pathogens involved in human deseases caused by raw fish can be Bacillus Cereus and Staphilococcus aureus. Furthermore, a number of chemicals such as Mercury, Cadmium and Arsenic, can be proved dangerous in raw fish. After Fukushima accident, moreover, ocean samples were positive for Caesium, a radioactive isotope. Nevertheless, the risk of having contaminated fish in our food market is fairly slight because most of the products destinated to human consumption come from controlled fish farms. On the other hand, eating sushi can bring advantages too: fish is in fact rich in Omega3, fundamental in heart desease; Nori seaweeds contains Beta-Carotene and vitamins such as B, C, PP and Folic acid; ginger, often used with sushi, strengthen the immune defence; Wasabi sauce delay the cellular aging and ultimately, the great amount of starch contained in rice, allow a better assimilation of proteins. In conclusion, sushi is considered a well balanced meal, fulfilled with starch, proteins, lipids, vitamins, mineral salts and fibres, but only when properly prepared and served, as specified in Reg. (CE) n. 178/2002 and in ¿Pacchetto igiene¿.

Il sushi e la cucina giapponese sono una moda ormai diffusa anche in Italia, ma il consumo di pesce crudo ha degli svantaggi, come: parassitosi tipo Anisakis, Bacillus cereus ed Staphylococcus aureus che possono provoca moltissimi danni all'organismo. Inoltre con l'incidente accaduto a Fukushima è possibile il pesce sia contaminato chimicamente da sostanze come: Mercurio, Arsenico, Cadmio ed addirittura Cesio, una sostanza radioattiva. Inoltre è molto importante come il pesce viene conservato, lavorato e servito se consumato crudo, le norme igienico-sanitarie sono inoltre specificate nel Reg (CE) n. 178/2002 e ribadito ulteriormente da tutto il ¿Pacchetto igiene¿.