Reading Notes: Hsin-I Feng, Beyond Nigiri and Anisakiasis (2006)

A Harvard Law School paper that traces sushi from ancient tribute to modern food-safety law.

Beyond Nigiri and Anisakiasis, The Tale of Sushi: History and Regulation was written by Hsin-I Feng in 2006 as a paper in Harvard Law School’s food and drug law program. It joins two stories: how sushi developed, and how governments regulate the risks of eating raw fish.

What it covers

• The origins of fermented fish preservation and narezushi as a form of tribute and tax in early Japan.
• The Edo-period shift to vinegared rice and nigiri.
• Anisakiasis, an infection caused by parasitic worms in raw or undercooked fish, and the freezing rules used to control it.
• How the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s food code approaches raw fish served in restaurants.

Takeaway

Sushi’s history is also a history of food safety. Fermentation, vinegar, salt and, later, freezing were all ways to make fish safe to eat.

Part of the Boston Made Reader’s special collection Courage, Conscience & Service. Written for the Reader and free to read here.