But people do still die…and that fact was at the very front of my mind when I decided I wanted to spend my birthday dining on fugu. Fortunately, death rates have been reduced in recent years with up to 6 deaths per year recorded between 1996 to 2006. The poison in the fish, tetrodotoxin (I can’t pronounce it either), paralyses its victim’s muscles leaving them conscious until they slowly die from asphyxiation. The importance of this trainining is highlighted by the fact that deaths commonly occur when unskilled people try to prepare the fish at home (I’m assuming the DIY fugu chefs watch videos on You Tube before accidentally committing suicide by fugu…that’s probably how I’d do it). There are strict laws in place in Japan to regulate the production and serving of fugu, which is only permitted by highly trained chefs. (If you’re confused by the difference between pufferfish and blowfish, don’t be – they are two different words for the same thing.) These deadly bits are largely the organs such as the liver, which is never served, but if the fish is prepared incorrectly, eating fugu can kill you. Not so remarkable, you might think, until you discover that it contains highly poisonous parts.
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