Sushi News…

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is in the process of creating a team of Sushi Police,who will travel abroad to award those few Japanese Restaurants who make classic sushi (and classic sushi only) with certificates of authenticity. The idea is to halt the widespread popularity of California Rolls, spicy tuna rolls, caterpillar rolls, rainbow rolls, crunchy tempura rolls and the like, all of which are viewed as edible abominations by purists.According to the ministry, more than 20,000 restaurants outside of Japan “claim” to be Japanese-but only a precious few actually are. - Food Arts

I have provided a link to the actual Ministry of  Agriculture and their web page for the subject here.

Also 1st meeting of the Council of Advisers for the Recommendation of Japanese Restaurants Outside Japan- actual minutes of the meeting with pdf links to the documents here.

Sushi in Space?

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced the approval of 29 Japanese dishes for use by astronaut Koichi Wakata when he ventures to the International Space Station in the fall of 2008. They include instant ramen noodles, Japanese-style curry, onigiri rice balls, powdered green tea, and mackerel in miso sauce.

~ by sushitimes on December 13, 2007.