It is believed that fugu has been eaten for centuries up to milleniums thanks to fugu bones that have been found in shell middens dating back to more than 2,300 years back.Ĭenturies later, heading into the Edo period (1603 – 1868), fugu consumption was banned altogether due to numerous cases of samurai dying of pufferfish induced poisoning. On top of that, the toxin that makes them lethal to humans actually protects them from parasites, leading to cases where their survival rate drops due to the absence of tetrodotoxin.Īn argument can also be made that if non-poisonous fugu became widespread, the false belief that eating fugu and fugu insides is safe would spread as well, lowering people’s guard when coming across fugu thus increasing incident rates.įugu History of fugu consumption in Japan Another problem is the added stress to fugu when their tetrodotoxin levels are depleted which leads them to attack other fugu, making it hard to raise them with other fish. The first one being the cost of equipment to maintain the temperature at the same levels as that of the fugu’s natural habitat. However, it is not easy due to various problems. Therefore, it is possible to artificially produce non-toxic pufferfish, and efforts are underway in some areas to commercialize them. It was discovered that the poison found in fugu is not actually produced by the fugu itself, but is rather due to bacteria found in animals it regularly eats. In order to prevent fugu related intoxications, its handling is extremely restricted and only State licensed professionals are allowed to prepare and serve or sell fugu. Up to years of training are required to learn how to handle such a fish and one cannot prepare and serve fugu without the proper qualifications. When puffed-up, pointed spines can be observed protruding from its skin.īecause of the poison it contains, fugu needs to be prepared a certain way for it to be edible: the toxic parts must be removed without contaminating the non-poisonous ones which need to be cleaned. Like most other pufferfish, the fugu is know for its ability to inflate itself by swallowing water (hence the name pufferfish in English). Its toxic properties are due to a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin found in its inner organs, with the liver and ovaries being among the most dangerous, as well as the eyes and the skin. Let’s start with the basics, fugu is a pufferfish, and like most pufferfish species it is extremely poisonous and can be lethal if eaten as is.
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