Sushi warning opens a big can of worms
By Beth Teitell
Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - Updated: Mar 9, 2006 11:08 AM EST
It’s a dangerous world we live in, no doubt about that. If the Center for Science in the Public Interest doesn’t scare the heck out of you with one of its buzz-kill studies on killer fat levels in General Gau’s chicken or movie popcorn, you can be sure some other do-good group will strike.
Today’s whistle-blowing wet blanket: Gotmercury.org, which has just branded sushi the ‘‘new Russian roulette” because of dangerously high mercury levels. Jeez, I knew that ‘‘.org” was a problem the moment I saw it. The group, part of the California-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, went to six top top top Los Angeles restaurants, and unable to get a table, issued a very unfriendly report stating that the mercury levels in the tuna was so high the restaurants ‘‘should be keeping this food off their lists.”
OK, I made up the part about not getting a table, but the other part is true. Has anyone alerted the celebs? Particularly Britney Spears, who’s reportedly pregnant again (even though she’s denying it). I’m waiting for the US Weekly pics of her driving with her son on the roof rack while she shovels tuna rolls into her mouth. And Britney, don’t even try blaming your Nobu order on the paparazzi, please.
Incredibly, Gotmercury.org didn’t research other potentially unsafe aspects of sushi. I for one, can think of two: 1) It’s so small and so delicious that eating it, particularly under the influence of sake, is like playing Russian roulette with your budget. Actually, it’s worse - you know you’re going to overspend. 2) While small and on the low-fat side (unless you’re wolfing down avocado rolls) sushi can lead to weight gain, thanks to soy sauce-related water retention.
Yesterday, as word of the killer sushi spread, fear gripped the trendier parts of town. ‘‘I knew it,” one avid sushi fan told me. ‘‘If they tell you not to eat mercury when you’re pregnant you shouldn’t be eating it when you’re not pregnant.” She confessed she’d recently been binging on tuna sushi, which is high in mercury that can cause short-term memory loss. ‘‘I don’t remember how many times I had it last week,” she added.
At least she’s not in denial, like another woman I interviewed. ‘‘I don’t really think of sushi as fish,” she told me. ‘It’s so cute.”
‘‘I know that sounds dumb,” she added.
No, no, I assured her, thinking of the ‘‘Desperately Seeking Susan” scene in which Madonna’s cab driver says, ‘‘I had some of that sushi the other night . . . took it home, warmed it up - tasted just like fish!”
Maybe the problem is not so much the mercury in the tuna, it’s that its raw sushi state keeps the levels high. One day, I’m sure, we’ll learn there’s one thing that cleans all toxins from fish. And if we’re lucky, it’s melted butter.
