

Do not serve or sell imported puffer fish unless it has been sourced as described above.For restaurants and fish markets that wish to continue serving or selling puffer fish, in addition to following applicable state and local regulations, FDA recommends that you:.The Northern Puffer fish from the mid-Atlantic coastal waters of the United States, typically between Virginia and New York, has not been found to contain toxin, but without routine toxin screening there still is a potential risk. Puffer fish harvested from these Florida counties have been found to contain significant amounts of toxin in the flesh regardless of the preparation technique. Lucie, and Martin counties on the east coast of Florida due to persistent toxicity. The State of Florida currently has a ban on both commercial and recreational harvesting of puffer fish from the waters of Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St.Therefore there is an increased risk that puffer fish prepared in the United States and elsewhere will be improperly prepared. There is no similar training and certification process for American chefs. It is only imported into the United States on a limited basis under an agreement between FDA and the Japanese government. This company imports the product from processing facilities licensed by the Japanese government to prepare this product using specially trained fish cutters. Currently, the only acceptable source of imported puffer fish is from a New York importer, Wako International.Due to the potential health hazard, commercial importation of puffer fish into the United States is heavily restricted.In fact, freezing and thawing of the product prior to removal of the toxic organs may result in the migration of toxin into the flesh of the fish.

The toxin cannot be destroyed by cooking or freezing.Unless puffer fish is cleaned and prepared in a special manner to carefully remove the organs containing toxin, the flesh of the fish will become contaminated with the toxin.
#FUGU BLOW FISH SKIN#
The liver, gonads (ovaries and testes), intestines and skin of puffer fish typically contain the toxin.

