New Ontario health regulation affects sushi restaurants - UPDATE!

[Rehan]

From http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040925/SUSHITREATS25/TPNational/Canada :

Freezing out sushi

Chefs and sushi lovers say the Japanese specialty will cease to be a delicacy after a new health regulation demands that raw fish be frozen before serving.

By JOHN ALLEMANG
Saturday, September 25, 2004 - Page M1


Could this be the end of sushi as we know it?

The bracing brininess of sea urchin and the lingering meaty taste of fresh tuna will soon be a thing of the past with a new Ontario health regulation that forces sushi masters to use only frozen seafood in their raw-fish specialties.

The government ban on fresh fish, which went into effect on September 1 and which extends to sashimi, fish tartare, ceviche and cold-smoked fish, has left many chefs and diners dismayed at what they see as a move that sacrifices culinary traditions to heavy-handed hygienic principles.

"I am terribly dismayed," says Josh Josephson, a research optometrist and eyewear-store president whose passion for good food is legendary in Toronto's best kitchens. "This just doesn't make sense. Freezing fish changes both the texture and the flavour -- we're going to lose the clean, subtle taste that you can only get from fresh raw fish."

Chefs who specialize in the demanding arts of sushi and sashimi are equally perplexed. "This is a huge headache for me," says Hiro Yoshida of Hiro Sushi in Toronto's St. Lawrence neighbourhood. "I don't want to serve frozen fish to my customers. They come to my restaurant specifically for fresh fish."

Mr. Yoshida looks at the display case in front of his popular sushi bar and rhymes off the fresh fish that will be affected by the new regulation -- salmon, sardine, Spanish mackerel, horse mackerel, fluke, Nova Scotia sea urchin. "There's no way you can freeze sea urchin," he says. "When you defrost it, it just melts away."

The mood was the same at Ichi Riki restaurant just east of Yorkville, where Minoru Seiriki was trying to get a handle on how his raw-fish business will be compromised. "Snapper is far too soggy when you thaw it," he says, "and it looks just miserable. Giant clam, if you try to freeze it, turns into rubber. You can see why we don't welcome this law."

Sushi and sashimi have been eaten in Japan for centuries without much incident, but their rising popularity in Toronto, coupled with Ontario's increased emphasis on food safety, has created a showdown that the government is much better placed to win.

"We in Ontario haven't had any reports of diseases per se," says Karim Kurji, the province's associate chief medical officer of health and an admitted sushi-lover. "But our concern is to do this on a precautionary basis rather than react to a disease when it shows up."

This advance strike against sushi's fish-borne parasites, however, may be an overreaction to a problem that hasn't been proved to exist here. "In my 28 years of doing tropical medicine, I've never seen a single case," says Jay Keystone, a doctor at Toronto General Hospital's tropical-disease unit. "It can't be that common."

"I think there are more significant issues in food safety such as salmonella," says Marilyn Lee, a professor of public health at Ryerson University.

There is no question that many wild ocean fish carry parasitic roundworms -- one U.S. study suggests 5 to 10 per cent, depending on the species. "They are a potential risk," says John Hoeve, a fish specialist at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. "Most parasites are more an aesthetic than a safety issue, but there are a few that are infectious to humans."

Prolonged freezing has been shown to kill the worms that chefs occasionally encounter, and the Ontario regulation requires fish that is served raw to have been frozen to minus 20 degrees for seven days or minus 35 degrees for 15 hours. Though this is based on codes developed by both Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (which actually makes an exception for raw tuna in its regulation), Ontario is the only province to have turned a guideline into an all-or-nothing law.

"It's obvious Ontario is moving toward a you-must approach to food safety," says Terry Mundell, president of the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association.

Although public-health officials say they consulted the association in the development of new amendments to the Health Protection and Promotion Act, Mr. Mundell says the ban on fresh fish for raw consumption was not included in the final draft presented to his group. "It came as a surprise to us," he says.

As it did to Chris McDonald, chef at Avalon on Adelaide Street West, whose inventive menus regularly feature raw fish tartares, carpaccios and sashimi. "The point of serving raw fish is that you can say, 'This thing is perfect as it is.' But a fish that's been frozen is already compromised."

Public-health officials like to point out that some sushi delicacies are already being made from frozen fish -- tuna in particular is often frozen at sea, though more for economic reasons than health concerns. But Mr. McDonald isn't won over.

"This is just a case of the government trying to protect our health and lowering the quality of life in the process. Why do we all have to fall into line because of the fear that some unscrupulous chefs are perhaps endangering people?"

But fall into line they must, according to public-health inspectors who are already telling chefs they must come up with proof their fish has been frozen -- either visual evidence or documentation from their suppliers.

"We're making it clear to the restaurant people," says Judy Hope, manager of food safety for York Region Health Services, "that the liability is on them." Restaurants not complying with the new regulations face being shut down.

With the weight of liability hanging over his head, and the prospect of disappointed customers who won't line up for pre-frozen sashimi, Mr. Yoshida at Hiro is desperately looking for a bright side in this strange new development.

"Regulation is regulation," he says philosophically. "You have to follow it, so I will have to study frozen fish, and learn new techniques for marinating and flavouring. I'm going to call my teacher in Japan and find out more about the old-fashioned experiences."

[KevC]

:(

[tinlunlau]

boo! a pox on them, i say! a pox on the government, i say!

[gq_fuzion]

grrrrr
i love sushi
why they taking away my sushi?

[wanted]

Ok a sushi question from a pakistanian guy,


When I went to the free buffet from Mandarin. I had some sushi. It was wrapped with seaweed/black paper and rice where was the raw fish. or did i not eat sushi?

[Rehan]

When I went to the free buffet from Mandarin. I had some sushi. It was wrapped with seaweed/black paper and rice where was the raw fish. or did i not eat sushi?
Short answer: yes, you ate sushi.

This is a good thread for sushi beginners:
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/showthread.php?t=36362

[bmwguy]

I think that is a real stupid law/regulation. If people want to eat fresh fish, then that is their choice. They should simply educate people of the dangers and let them make their own choice.

[Rehan]

I think that is a real stupid law/regulation. If people want to eat fresh fish, then that is their choice. They should simply educate people of the dangers and let them make their own choice.
I'm also against this regulation. But one argument against your comment that it's their choice is that the result of lax regulations can be an increased burden on the publicly-funded health care system, for which reason government should have a say in it. But as mentioned in the article, there are more important things to worry about.

[shadomoon]

Time to write letters to our elected officials ... bah humbug .. for all the good it will do. Still won't hurt to try. Petition time!

[KevC]

Time to write letters to our elected officials ... bah humbug .. for all the good it will do. Still won't hurt to try. Petition time!

Good idea. Hm. I don't know who my elected official is. Is there a place I can get this information?

[Rehan]

Good idea. Hm. I don't know who my elected official is. Is there a place I can get this information?
http://olaap.ontla.on.ca/mpp/parlrdg.jsp?glbwc=current

The regulation change was made in March.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Source/Regs/English/2004/R04074_e.htm

[squall458]

booooooo urnsss! this is so ghey its not even funny, man i love my sushi! what r sushi buffets gonna serve now? thawed fish from the brand Janes found in no frills freezer section? this sucks big, but i guess we juss have to eat outside of toronto?? ;)

[Rehan]

but i guess we juss have to eat outside of toronto?? ;)
You'd have to eat outside of Ontario to avoid this regulation.

[bmwguy]

But one argument against your comment that it's their choice is that the result of lax regulations can be an increased burden on the publicly-funded health care system, for which reason government should have a say in it.

As we are the ones that really pay for our healthcare (i.e. those fantastic taxes), I think we deserve an equal say in it.

[gman]

This brings back the memory of Chinese BBQ food "regulation" years ago. I think that regulation was taken away after the fight from the Chinese community. I guess I can see similiar thing again.

[d_jedi]

(and it's very easy to call the McGuinty government the devil, by the way)
but I support this law.. although perhaps not to be strictly applied.

The thing is, when I go into a restaurant, I expect all relevant safety procedures to have been followed to ensure my food is safe to eat. If it's between getting a worm parasite or eating frozen fish, I'd gladly have my fish frozen.

Perhaps a compromise could be reached:
1) Sushi restaurants offer both the frozen and non-frozen varieties. There must be no price difference, and all varieties offered non-frozen must have a frozen equivalent. The menu/waiters must inform patrons of the potential dangers of eating the fresh fish (sort of like cigarette warnings..)

2) Or, allow restaurants to only serve "fresh" fish.. but require they must provide directions to a sushi restaurant within a reasonable distance that serves frozen fish.. as well as the warnings as above.

The point is, consumers should know the heath risks associated with the food they eat. They should have an easily accessible alternative (ie. so they don't feel forced to simply accept what they deem an unreasonable risk just because there are no other options)

[malbadon]

Do they have examples of this happening in Ontario to back up their reasoning for the decision? Not examples from some flea-bite backwoods 3rd world town in Wallawallaland, but ones that actually occured in Sushi restaurants in the province they are regulating?

Sounds like a regulatory board filled with incompentents who want their hamburgers. And I am quite positive I can find you numerous examples of that "quality" product being continuously compromised all across North America, but no call to rip Big Mac's outta peoples mouths.

Nuking your steak for 5 minutes will 100% guarantee there is absolutely no chance of anything bad living in the steak, no matter what slips past the processing plant. That would guaranteeing your health and ensure we never hear about ecoli or anything else. Perhaps that should be the next rule, I'm sure no one will complain.

*scratches Ontario off his places to live*
*recalls it wasn't on the list to start with :razz: *

[kloan]

Well it's unfortunate, but I think it's necessary. I got parasites from eating sushi. Although I didn't experience any obvious physical symptoms, I think the effects are long term if left untreated.. anyway, my doctor still gave me crap to take and told me to stay away from sushi. As much as I love it, and I really really do, I'm not going to eat it anymore.. there's just no way of knowing if the fish I'm eating is free from parasites.

It'd be cool if there was some sort of device that could test fish on the spot in the restaurant... then we wouldn't have to worry or have these laws...

[Rehan]

From http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1096409411134&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 :

Sushi rules leave chefs feeling raw

Regulation takes eateries by surprise
Health inspectors give 3-month break

TANYA TALAGA AND GREG QUILL
STAFF REPORTERS

Toronto sushi chefs and restaurant owners face tough new health rules banning the use of fresh raw fish.

But city health inspectors are giving them a three-month reprieve before they start enforcing the regulations requiring the fish to be frozen first.

Provincial health authorities said the regulations were not prompted by any immediate health threat, but, after a lengthy review process, were brought about in the interest of public health.

The change took place at the beginning of September to bring Ontario up to national and U.S. health codes, said Dr. Karim Kurji, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health.

But the changes have created a flap in a city that loves its sushi.

Gus Nikoletsos, owner of the City Fish Market at Dufferin St. and Lawrence Ave., said, "Nobody's happy about this, not the restaurants, not the customers, not the suppliers."

And some infectious disease experts questioned the rationale behind the move.

Dr. Jay Keystone, of the University Health Network's tropical disease unit, said he doesn't understand the reason for the changes, adding severe sickness from a parasite coming from raw sushi is rather rare.

"Although, I do believe in preventive medicine and public health, I'm not sure why this would be a priority," he said.

The public health department has done a great job in our province, he said. "But this particular issue seems to be a non-issue for a parasite ... that we almost never see."

Freezing raw fish is an effective way to remove parasites.

According to Health Canada, Ontario is the first province to take this kind of a step. The Canadian Food Inspection System recommended the changes to the handling of raw fish in the late 1990s, said Health Canada spokesperson Margot Geduld. "Each province can decide to incorporate the recommendations as they see fit," she said.

Worldwide, there are 50 million people with infections attributed to eating raw fish, explained Kurji. In Japan, you actually see a condition called anisakiasis, associated with eating raw fish. The condition can be quite serious, Kurji said, causing victims "to roll about with pain, with nausea, vomiting, etc. One would probably require endoscopic intervention to remove the worms."

"In Quebec, we had an outbreak in 1996 where 17 people were affected from eating raw river fish," he said.

However, infectious disease experts in Toronto can't recall any documented cases of people becoming seriously ill with parasites after eating raw sushi.

Keystone said he can't recall any problems in Toronto arising from raw fish used in sushi. "It baffles me this is an issue when we've never seen a case."

Raw seafood can make you sick, but it is "really unusual" to get a life-threatening illness from sushi, said Dr. Allison McGeer, a microbiologist and infectious disease consultant at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Across Toronto yesterday, sushi chefs and restaurant owners whose menus feature raw fish, sashimi, fish tartare, ceviche, cold-smoked fish, and other uncooked seafood items — food favoured by a huge cross-section of the city's diners — were angered over the changes.

"It's the biggest problem I've faced in 20 years in the business, absolutely overwhelming," said John Lee, owner and chef at Omi, a popular Japanese restaurant on Church St.

"The freezing and thawing process would cause discoloration and ruin the taste and texture of the fish, since the jagged ice particles that melt during the thawing process would leave most seafood spongy, sitting in smelly juice," he said.

All fish would be affected, Lee continued, though oilier varieties such as tuna and salmon would stand up better to freezing than most white fish.

The regulation changes seemed to catch everyone — diners, restaurant owners, even Toronto Public Health officials — by surprise.

Jim Chan, manager of the Toronto Public Health food safety program, said that's why city restaurant owners are getting a three-month reprieve before health officials start enforcing the rules.

"For the first three months, we are doing an education phase, in which during a routine inspection the inspector will introduce this information to the operators," said Chan.

He said restaurant operators could handle the change by dealing with suppliers who will give them a document or invoice certifying the fish has been frozen according to regulation.

George Jung, owner of Pisces Seafood, a high-end fishmonger on Yonge St. near Rosedale, said the problem is not with the freshness of most of the raw fish that's sold in Toronto restaurants, but with the way it is handled, cut and transported.

"There are so many sushi restaurants in this city now, a couple on every block, and so few chefs who are properly trained," he said. "Freezing the fish will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem. It can be frozen and improperly defrosted, then handled and cut by untrained or mediocre chefs who haven't taken proper hygiene precautions. That's the real issue. I've seen tuna cut and filleted on the back of a truck in a dirty alley behind a restaurant.

"That's where the trouble starts."

[Blunt]

Ummm.. this sucks..
I'm moving...
>:(

[marksman]

Do they have examples of this happening in Ontario to back up their reasoning for the decision? Not examples from some flea-bite backwoods 3rd world town in Wallawallaland, but ones that actually occured in Sushi restaurants in the province they are regulating?


From an article I've read, they've admitted that it has never been a problem, but it is a "pre-emptive" solution, so that they don't have a problem in the future.

It is just an easier way for them to inspect, rather than ensuring that the sushi chefs are watching for worms in the fish, and discarding it when they encounter it (as all good sushi chefs do).

[Bortman]

Oh man this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Sushi has been eaten for thousands of years, and what has it caused? Its caused Asians to be some of the healthiest people in the world!

Now I'm just your standard caucasion of Germanic decent who happens to live in the Prairies, but this is rediculous. I started eating sushi this year, and I'm growing fonder of it every time I go, I love it. Now, being that I love it, I can only imagine the outrage the Asian community feels, much less the rest of the population.

If you guys find something to send to and MLA or someone to get this changed, let me know, because us prairie folk would be outraged too!

[voodoo401]

One of the smartest moves so far.
About time they implemented this change since it's for the better, not only that flash freezing the meat in special freezers that go to -60 C both preserves the texture and flavor of the fish. If these places are caught selling untreated meat they should revoke the lic.

[ferkel]

I don't think freezing fish is the answer to better sushi. Unfortunately with all this mass farm fishing in achieving cheaper/faster food, we're killing ourselves with toxins.

I remember a time when you cooked Salmon and it was still orange after you cooked? Nowadays it turns white which means its polluted fish.

[gman]

What they need to do is to ask Japanese government how to do their QC on fish. Japanese is the one who cares about the purity of the food the most in the world. If they say it is good, it is better than good in our standard.

[Rehan]

What they need to do is to ask Japanese government how to do their QC on fish. Japanese is the one who cares about the purity of the food the most in the world. If they say it is good, it is better than good in our standard.
From the Toronto Star article:

"In Japan, you actually see a condition called anisakiasis, associated with eating raw fish. The condition can be quite serious, Kurji said, causing victims 'to roll about with pain, with nausea, vomiting, etc. One would probably require endoscopic intervention to remove the worms.'

http://www.google.ca/search?q=anisakiasis+sushi

I think we don't really want to have that kind of thing here. :confused:

This page (http://microbiology.jbpub.com/microbes/closer_look_show.cfm?chapter=5&topic=Check%20Your%20Sushi) about anisakiasis from sushi mentions that "in the Netherlands the law requires that any fish to be consumed by humans must be frozen before sale".

[Rehan]

This is an interesting concept:
Frozen sushi (http://www.ne.jp/asahi/frozen/sushi/index.htm)

[felixdd]

This is stupid and irrational. Why do they ban sushi, but not restrict steakhouses to serve only well-done steaks? Better replace salad with soup and replace sunny-side-up eggs with scrambled, pouched, or hardboiled.

Oh oh oh -- and remember to shutdown Rodney's raw oyster restaurant while you're at it!

The fact is that raw food is more ubiquitous in the North American diet as people wish to acknowledge. It's unfair that Sushi is being singled out as thus.

Much like you accept a risk when ordering medium rare, or downing 6 raw oyseters, you should accept the risk when eating sushi. Instead of banning, why not have licensing requirements instead?

[Degenerate]

I'm not a fan of sushi and I hate it. I don't really care for this ban because it doesn't affect me. However I think it's just another BS by-law just like the smoke ban by law. Let the establishment run their own business with out having the goverment to interfere. If customers want to go to an establishment the choice is theirs.

[Rehan]

From http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1096495812048&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 :


Outcry forces thaw in sushi rules
Ontario to review fresh raw fish ban Input sought from industry

ROB FERGUSON
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU


After a public outcry, the provincial government is backing away from a strict new ban on the use of fresh raw fish in sushi.

The rules could be loosened if other ways can be found to warn diners of the potential dangers of eating raw fish, Dr. Karim Kurji, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, told the Star. Kurji said there would be a new round of consultations on the issue.

"If the signs seem to point that way, and if the consultation comes up with credible options where we can safeguard public health and at the same time protect people's culinary practices, then that will be the way to go."

Several infectious disease experts have questioned the rationale behind the change requiring sushi fish to first be deep frozen to kill potential parasites, then thawed. Sushi chefs and sushi lovers complained the freezing and thawing could ruin the food's texture.

The new regulation was also mocked by opposition politicians at Queen's Park, given what they feel are more pressing problems in the province. "Half the hospitals are fighting a fiscal fire, they're in crisis, and the government is banning raw sushi?" said Conservative MPP John Baird (Nepean-Carleton).

"The government has no place in the freezers of the nation," he quipped, paraphrasing a famous quote from former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

Kurji said the ban appears to have taken the public by surprise because the original consultation process, which took place over the last two years, somehow missed getting input from the sushi industry.

"In an ideal world we'd hoped that our consultation that occurred would have pointed out all these things, but unfortunately the consultation didn't seem to reach the right people," he acknowledged.

The ban took effect at the beginning of September to bring Ontario up to Health Canada and U.S. standards, although City of Toronto health inspectors were giving restaurateurs three months leeway before enforcing it.

Earlier yesterday, Health Minister George Smitherman defended the ban, saying anecdotal tales that few people get ill from eating raw fish don't qualify as evidence on which to base a public health decision.

"There's lots of international evidence that lots and lots of people get sick from eating raw fish," he said on the way into a cabinet meeting, praising Kurji and chief medical officer of health Sheela Basrur for pushing the change. "On the evaluation of the scientific evidence they have made a decision which, as the minister of health, I am in complete support of," Smitherman said.

That evidence is now being reviewed, Kurji said late yesterday afternoon.

"We have asked Health Canada to send us the background materials that led to their risk assessment so that we can independently review that and see whether we agree with it."

The ministry will also look at existing practices in sushi preparation, to see just how much fish comes already frozen by suppliers.


Kurji noted that some U.S. states require sushi restaurants to put up signs that, in effect, say "buyer beware."

"That may well be one course of action."

John Lee, sushi chef at Omi on Church St., applauded the government's flexibility and said one option would be a government grading system for the quality of fish used in sushi, noting that a lot of people talk about "sushi grade" fish but there is no official grading system, as there is for meat.

[Rehan]

I bet this would never have happened if the chief medical officer of health and the associate chief medical officer of health were Japanese instead of Indian... :)

[Gee]

Ok a sushi question from a pakistanian guy,


When I went to the free buffet from Mandarin. I had some sushi. It was wrapped with seaweed/black paper and rice where was the raw fish. or did i not eat sushi?

What you ate was Mandarin's poor excuse for California Rolls. And it is not Sushi.

The black paper was dried seaweed. With sweet rice, Avacado, eggs and top top it off carrots.

No fish in that.

[Rehan]

What you ate was Mandarin's poor excuse for California Rolls. And it is not Sushi.

The black paper was dried seaweed. With sweet rice, Avacado, eggs and top top it off carrots.

No fish in that.
"Sushi" is actually the vinegar rice.

From http://www.911cheferic.com/main/drecipe.asp?recipe=437 :
Note: Did you know that a Frenchman invented Sushi in Japan? In 1865, Tokyo, a Frenchman opened his French bakery in downtown Tokyo. But 100 years ago, Japanese did not understand western food, and therefore his business was slow. But as the French baker observed: Japanese people like raw fish. How about trying topping my French bread with raw fish for a change? After the French baker topped his French bread with raw fish, Japanese citizens flooded his store. Then later, the Japanese replaced the bottom portion of sushi, which was the bread, with vinegar rice. Sushi's original name is actually "sumeshi". "Su" means vinegar. "Meshi" means rice. But when people start to say it fast "Sumeshi, sumeshi, sushi!" It became just "Sushi"!

And from http://www.stickyrice.com/sushi/savvy/savvy.html :
Some folks get mixed up with the terms sushi and sashimi. Sushi means "seasoned rice" and sashimi means "sliced raw fish".

[Gee]

You learn something new every day.

[d_jedi]

I bet this would never have happened if the chief medical officer of health and the associate chief medical officer of health were Japanese instead of Indian... :)

That sounds pretty racist to me..

[Rehan]

That sounds pretty racist to me..
Well, Indians are much less likely than Japanese to like sushi. :D I know lots of Indians that don't venture too far away from their native cuisine... my dad, for example, (born in India) would never think about having raw fish. Even pizza or lasagne is usually a stretch for him. :cheesygri

[actyper]

That sounds pretty racist to me..

Not at all racist. There's no way the Cheif Medical Officer of Health would ever ban curry because it eats away at your intestines. :cheesygri

The whole idea of the ban is ********. There's nothing wrong with eating sushi. Yes there is a tiny possibility that you can get some sort of related sickness, but that possiblity exists with any other food. Do we put out a full scale ban on beef because of the possibility of ecoli?

[NDman]

That didn't take them long because of the outcry and buzz it caused. A review of the regulation is underway now. Good stuff

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1096495812048&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

[Rehan]

From http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1101941415820&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 :

Frozen-sushi rule about to melt
Province set to ditch controversial regulation
Raw fish `safe to eat,' chief medical officer says


Ontario is set to scrap tough new health rules banning the use of fresh raw fish for sushi, acknowledging medical concerns about parasites were overblown.

"At the end of the day, the message for consumers is that the sushi and sashimi served in restaurants and large grocery stores is safe to eat," chief medical officer of health Sheela Basrur said yesterday. "We don't intend to take that away from people."

Sushi restaurant owners applauded the move, which must still be approved by the provincial cabinet. They had complained new rules requiring sushi fish to be deep frozen to kill potential parasites, then thawed, would ruin the food's taste and texture.

"I'm happy," said Barry Chaim, owner of Edo Restaurant on Eglinton Ave., giving health officials, including Basrur, credit for changing their minds after a furor earlier this fall. But Chaim said he remains concerned about the "cloud" the controversy left over the sushi business.

The government has been reviewing the freeze rule for more than two months, saying sushi restaurants were not initially consulted.

While deep freezing kills parasites that can cause roundworms and a painful condition called anisakiasis, a health ministry memorandum obtained by the Toronto Star notes Ontario cases of the disease "appear to be low" and notes most sushi fish is already frozen. Industry sources say freezing often occurs at sea.

Health Minister George Smitherman said yesterday he initially approved the ban based on information presented to him, but is open to revision.

Yay!

[NDman]

Took them a grand total of 2 months to disprove that. Not too bad (I mean it)!! It's good news to sushi lovers

[crazyboie]

Sweet! I had a hankering for some sushi in the next couple of weeks too :D

[plisk3n]

This is democracy at it's finest!

[CodecX81]

Yea i was reading this in the metro today.. 2 months to disprove a law is fantastic.

If only they could work so effectively with everything else!

[Viz79]

Alright! Just in time for the holidays. :)

~V79~

[taro-chan]

fun times... i <3 my raw fish.
lol

[Mok]

great news.