Generality
Pufferfish is a typically oriental and extremely expensive fishery product, as it is prized. This characteristic depends not only on the pleasantness of its meat, but above all on the fact that the processing of the fish requires a mastery that few boast in their work curriculum;
In Japan, operators who are allowed to process puffer meat are all provided with a specific license: furthermore, the sale of the unworked animal is totally forbidden to final consumers. This does not deny the population the autonomous supply of puffer fish through amateur fishing; obviously, most of the deaths from poisoning (however quite rare and not even remotely comparable, for example, to those from fungi) takes place within the domestic walls of the Japanese population.
Outline of Biology
Pufferfish belongs to the Tetraodontidae family, which includes about 80 species distributed mainly in temperate or tropical seas (Indian and Pacific Ocean); there are also some species resident in the Atlantic Ocean.
In Japan, the puffer fish is called Fugu or Torafugu, probably synonymous with the scientific name that indicates a particular genus of puffer fish, or Takifugu ; of this ensemble, the species most likely to be used for food purposes is the rubripes ; the binomial nomenclature of this puffer fish is Takifugu rubripes .
The pufferfish has no natural predators, or rather, it shouldn't have any. He defends himself by swelling and becoming difficult to bite; moreover, it is covered with thorns and its flesh is equipped (as anticipated) with a deadly poison. It feeds on molluscs (gastropods and bivalves), crustaceans and corals that crumbles by means of the powerful teeth (similar to a beak).
Symptoms of intoxication
Puffer venom is a liquid containing an extremely dangerous and potentially deadly toxin. It is a neurotoxin, or an element that interferes with the nerve conduction of the person who absorbs it. To be precise, it is called tetradotoxin (TTX); chemically, it is water-soluble (soluble in water) and thermostable (heat-resistant), which means that, even by boiling the puffer fish, if the toxin has contaminated the meat, it remains non-edible and potentially deadly. It is still not clear how TTX is produced in the viscera (especially liver, eggs, intestine) and in the skin of puffer fish, but it has been hypothesized that it may be the result of the bacterial metabolism of micro-organisms belonging to the Vibrio spp. and Pseudomonas spp. On the other hand, its toxicity is rather clear; this neurotoxin has shown a potential even 1, 200 times higher than potassium cyanide and acts by paralyzing respiratory muscles and the heart until death.
NB . Pufferfish is not the only TTX-containing organism, but also molluscs and crustaceans are involved such as: Jania spp, Astropecten spp., Veremolpa scabra, Charonia sauilae, Rapana venosa, Demania toxica, Yongeichthys criniger and Hapalochlaena maculosa . This would lead us to deduce that the hypothesis of bacterial contamination can be reliable, further supported by the very low levels of toxin present in the bred puffers. However, the benefit of the doubt remains, necessary to keep the guard levels high.
The symptoms of puffer poisoning are quite similar to those of other marine biotoxin poisoning and consist of blunting, paralysis, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and cardio-respiratory blockage. However, the toxic potential varies according to the species in question, geographical location, sex and season.
Since some traces of the poison are also present in the meat, a community regulation, or the EC regulation n. 853/2004, prohibits the sale and marketing of puffer fish (any specimen of the Tetraodontidae family) throughout the EU, where instead there is a health check for fish products imported from EU countries.
BE CAREFUL From the Suez Canal (in Egypt, which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Basin) the migration of alien species continues, including some belonging to the puffer fish family. The body responsible for their recognition is the veterinary body supported by the ASL which, thanks to the reports, has documented various similar catches (from 2003 onwards) in the regions: Lazio, Campania, Sardinia, Sicily and Puglia. The exclusion of these fish from national trade (since the 1980s) has eliminated the cases of intoxication in Italy. Unfortunately, some very dangerous food fraud attempts have also occurred; this involved the use of puffers to replace the well-known monkfish (or monkfish) but, fortunately, the attempt was foiled by the competent bodies.
Gastronomic outline
The puffer fish is the object of numerous culinary preparations, raw and cooked, although, for obvious reasons, in Italy they are not particularly known.
The best known, probably, is the fugu sashi or sashimi of fugu, that is a type of sushi; the characteristic of this preparation is that, unlike those based on salmon, sea bream, tuna, etc., the fugu must be cut much thinner (probably due to the consistency of the meat). Not to mention, then, the stewed puffer fish or fuguchiri, and the fried fugu or fugu karaage. Curious to learn that, despite being a food prohibited in feeding the Emperor due to the risk of intoxication, pufferfish prepared with great skill must possess a percentage of TTX sufficient to inform and slightly numb the jaws of the diner.
