How should puffer fish be treated to eat?

Viscera, blood, skin, gills and other places, the most toxic parts are in the reproductive system, and an ovary can poison dozens of people. Tetrodotoxin is one of the most toxic non-protein toxins found in nature, and the toxin is very stable. Chefs who are qualified to cook puffer fish must undergo rigorous training and pass rigorous examinations. It will take three years for an apprentice to become a puffer fish.

Extended data

In vivo toxin

Toxic part

The position and seasonal changes of tetrodotoxin; The position of tetrodotoxin is the internal organs of fish. It includes: liver, gonad, liver, intestines and stomach, blood and other parts, and its toxic content changes with different breeding environments and seasons.

According to the examples of the Yangtze River and cultured fugu, it is proved that the toxicity of each organ is: ovary → spleen → liver → blood tendon → eyes → gill harrow → skin → testis → muscle. The organ toxicity of cultured river bream (over 2 years old) is consistent with that of wild river bream, but the toxin content is low.

Tetrodotoxin is mainly distributed in ovary and liver, followed by kidney, blood, eyes, gills and skin. Testicles and muscles are nontoxic. If the fish dies for a long time, the visceral toxin will dissolve in body fluids and gradually penetrate into the muscles.

Its toxin content often changes with the seasons. February to May every year is the period of ovarian development, which is very toxic. After laying eggs in June-July, the ovary degenerates and the toxicity is weakened. The liver is also the most toxic during spawning in spring. Therefore, whenever you eat fresh fish in late spring and early summer, you should be especially cautious. You must choose fresh fish bodies and strictly remove internal organs to avoid poisoning.

The General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and China Food and Drug Administration jointly issued the Notice on Conditionally Releasing the Processing and Operation of Cultured Takifugu rubripes and Cultured Takifugu obscurus (hereinafter referred to as the Notice), which means that puffer fish (commonly known as puffer fish) that are not allowed to enter the market from 1990 can be legally eaten.

The road to the promulgation of this "lifting the ban" is not easy. The drafters said they waited 15 years. Beijing Youth Daily reporter visited a puffer fish restaurant that has been in business for four years yesterday. After "legalization", the passenger flow of restaurants has increased by two or three times.

Variety license

The "Notice" pointed out that, first of all, it is conditional to liberalize the processing and operation of two varieties of products, namely, cultured fugu rubripes and cultured fugu obscurus. China Fishery Association, which participated in the drafting of the Notice, said that there are more than 40 species of common river bream in China's coastal areas, and these two species have the longest artificial breeding time, the most mature drug control breeding technology and the most mature export and domestic market.

Since 1993, the Ministry of Agriculture has set up a "cooperative group for the safe utilization of puffer fish" to carry out research. The results showed that the toxic content of cultured puffer fish was obviously reduced, and it was safe to eat after non-toxic treatment. After the pilot work is mature, we will consider gradually liberalizing other cultured river bream varieties or relaxing product market conditions.

Cultured puffer fish should be processed by qualified agricultural products processing enterprises before they can be sold. In other words, fresh puffer fish cannot directly enter the hands of consumers and must be processed by processing enterprises.

Due to the special reasons that puffer fish products may contain toxicity, in order to ensure the food safety of consumers, the filing system should be implemented for processing enterprises. Its examination and filing conditions are very strict: it must have its own fish source base for breeding river bream for filing by the Ministry of Agriculture.

It is necessary to have equipment and technical personnel for processing and producing river bream, have the ability to professionally distinguish river bream varieties, and master the safe processing technology of river bream; It is also necessary to establish a complete product quality and safety traceability system and health management system.

Therefore, not all enterprises can cultivate and process river bream, and they must pass the expert review organized by China Fishery Association and China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association, and make a public announcement in the Ministry of Agriculture before they can obtain the production and business license.