Kaiten sushi article in hiding

[Mulboyne]

In the last 48 hours, I think I read an news article on a Japan web site about how some Japanese kaiten sushi restaurants pass off cheap fish as expensive (e.g using maguro instead of toro in negi toro maki)
I can't remember if it was a new story or an old story, but if it rings a bell with anyone, can you point me back to it? I may have been dreaming although I hate to think what dreaming about fraud at kaiten sushi restaurants would say about anyone's state of mind.

[Captain Japan]

In the last 48 hours, I think I read an news article on a Japan web site about how some Japanese kaiten sushi restaurants pass off cheap fish as expensive (e.g using maguro instead of toro in negi toro maki)
I can't remember if it was a new story or an old story, but if it rings a bell with anyone, can you point me back to it? I may have been dreaming although I hate to think what dreaming about fraud at kaiten sushi restaurants would say about anyone's state of mind.

How about this one?
Suspects sought in sushi bar robbery

Police are searching for two men who held up seven people at Sushi Box, 3494 Milwaukee Ave., at around 11:15 p.m. Saturday.

The two entered the restaurant, pointed a handgun at the victims and announced a robbery.

Six of the victims were dining at the restaurant and one was an employee.

The men escaped with more than $8,000 and personal property, such as jewelry, valued at more than $37,000, police said. No one was injured.

Both men were wearing baseball caps, victims told police, and one was wearing dark sunglasses.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call (847) 729-5000, extension 4423. Citizens with information may remain anonymous, police said.

:P

[Captain Japan]

Ok, ok, this one might actually be the one...
Carbon monoxide makes tuna look fresh
Miami Herald via Washington Post

Eating raw tuna that has been exposed to carbon monoxide gas is another matter entirely. In this case you're not breathing the gas, and for that matter you're not even eating it. Gases, of course, are ephemeral, and the carbon monoxide doesn't hang around on the fish after it's done its job of brightening its color. The FDA has declared carbon-monoxide-treated tuna to be GRAS -- generally regarded as safe -- because residual carbon monoxide on the fish is virtually absent.

But why should a food processor do such an outlandish thing as exposing fish to a poisonous gas? Well, follow the money. The red color of freshly cut tuna can change within a few days to an unappetizing brown. Consumers don't like brown fish and are willing to pay more for ''fresher-looking'' red. Hence, the cosmetic application of carbon monoxide rouge.

[Taro Toporific]

In the last 48 hours, I think I read an news article on a Japan web site about how some Japanese kaiten sushi restaurants pass off cheap fish as expensive....

I cannot find any sushi stories that are 48 hours old or less old. However, it's been a more than a month since the same news topic came up....question for salmon eaters

-...everybody knows the color is fake

Hey the NY Times just "discovered" it would be a good idea to put your "trout-salmon" next to your car tailpipe to improve the color.

Tuna's Red Glare? It Could Be Carbon Monoxide
11PM 6 Oct / NYTimes.com (no registration required)It has become increasingly likely that the tuna you are buying is bright red because it has been sprayed with carbon monoxide.
.....Tuna quickly turns an unappetizing brown (or chocolate, as it is called in the industry), whether it is fresh or conventionally frozen and thawed.
Carbon monoxide, a gas that is also a component of wood smoke, prevents the flesh from discoloring. It can even turn chocolate tuna red, according to some who have seen the process....
...Tuna quickly turns an unappetizing brown (or chocolate, as it is called in the industry), whether it is fresh or conventionally frozen and thawed.
Carbon monoxide, a gas that is also a component of wood smoke, prevents the flesh from discoloring. It can even turn chocolate tuna red, according to some who have seen the process....

Salmon is often colored using astaxanthine.
How salmon get its color

[Mulboyne]

Suspects sought in sushi bar robbery
Police are searching for two men who held up seven people at Sushi Box, 3494 Milwaukee Ave., at around 11:15 p.m. Saturday.

See? Ishihara is right. The gaijin crime wave is out of control and spreading outside Japan now.

I cannot find any sushi stories that are 48 hours old or less old. However, it's been a more than a month since the same news topic came up....question for salmon eaters

Thanks for that link. Goodness knows which fantasy world I spotted the other article in but I'll keep mooching around.
EDIT: Ha! Found it when I followed up from your links. Tucked away as the second article on this Japan Times page

Take tuna, for instance...Toro is popular when prepared as negitoro, in which the fish is minced and mixed with sliced leeks. Customers at sushi restaurants are often amazed at the low price of negitoro, given that its main ingredient is such a delicacy.
Or is it?
Not according to one chef at an exclusive sushi restaurant in Tokyo's Roppongi district, identified only as "Mr A." "That's just made by mixing the red [maguro] with oil," he says.
It's a similar story with many of the other varieties of fish served up at kaiten sushi bars. Nile perch, which inhabits rivers in Africa, is passed off as suzuki, a type of sea perch found off Japan's shores. The former sells for around 20 yen a pair at wholesale markets in Japan. Suzuki sells at 45 yen a piece for farmed fish and 90 yen for the wild variety. Awabi, or abalone, one of the most popular types of shellfish among sushi aficionados, is often just roko-gai: A similar-looking, but not similar-tasting, shellfish commonly found in South America. Their wholesale prices are 770 yen per pair compared to 60 yen, respectively.

[Bucky]

[sublight]

I don't have article to link to, but I remember some department store (maybe Seibu) getting busted about 10-12 years ago for the pulling CO maguro trick.

[TennoChinko]

I believe there was an article in the Japan Times on the sushi substitution issue. However, it looks like it may have been deleted by the publisher ...

[Mulboyne]

I've just spotted a Japanese web article which covers some of the same ground as that Japan Times piece I eventually found.

A Ginza sushi chef gives some tips on how to eat at a conveyor belt sushi. He says that negitoro is frequently just poor quality fish, pointing out that it's one of the easiest things to fake for a sushi chain cutting corners. On the other hand, dishes which don't appear at ordinary sushi joints - like salad maki and prawn mayo - are fine. Horse mackerel and saury (aji & sanma) are also usually OK to eat when they are in season because they aren't frozen or farmed.

Eel (anago) and sea urchin (uni) should generally be given a miss. Anago is often frozen & defrosted at least twice which harms the taste considerably. Uni is frequently treated with chemicals to retain its shape and colour which also ruins the taste.

The chef also warns about taking in too much ginger (gari) because its treated with food colouring and preservatives. The same is true for egg (tamago) which is never prepared on the premises. Food colouring is also a problem for fish like salmon and amberjack (sake & hamachi). Both are commonly treated with anti-oxidants which also pushes the quality down.

The article also warns about supermarket sashimi selections. If there are more than 2 kinds of fish in a package, you should steer clear because you'll likely be getting fish of dubious origin which has been treated with preservatives etc to ensure it all looks the same quality.