Candy is dandy for fresher sushi
Fish fed chocolate have longer shelf life
MATSUYAMA, Japan - With Friday’s debut of “choco-buri” yellowtail, Valentine’s Day chocolates now have some fishy competition.
These buri yellowtail, which have been jointly developed by the Ehime prefectural government and a local firm, are farmraised using feed mixed with chocolate.
By taking advantage of the antioxidant properties of polyphenol in the cacao used to make chocolate, it is possible to extend the freshness of choco-buri compared to regular farm-raised yellowtail.
Through Feb. 14, choco-buri is on the menu at the Kurasushi conveyor belt sushi chain across the nation. After that, the fish will be sold at supermarkets in Ehime Prefecture.
Farmed yellowtail generally has a higher fat content than the wild-caught fish, so they usually oxidize faster, which reduces their shelf life. This is a disadvantage as the period they can stay fresh for consumption lasts only two days or so. This challenge prompted the prefecture’s fishery research centre to try to delay the deterioration by feeding yellowtail antioxidants, and polyphenols in chocolate were found to be effective.
The prefecture already has released on the market “mikanburi,” farm-raised by taking advantage of the antioxidant effects of mikan orange peels. The dark red meat areas of mikan-buri start discolouring rapidly about 96 hours after being harvested.
When yellowtail are given feed that contains 10 per cent chocolate starting 20 days before shipment, such discoloration has been successfully delayed until about 120 hours after being harvested. This achievement can help expand sales destinations for the prefecture’s farmed yellowtail to places where Japanese food is booming, such as North America and the Middle East.
Uwajima Project Co., which developed the chocolate-fed fish with the prefectural government, aims to sell more than 200,000 choco-buri a year, worth about 2 billion yen ($18.25 million).