Fugu, or pufferfish, is a Japanese delicacy that contains a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, which can cause paralysis and death. Only licensed and trained chefs are allowed to prepare the dish in Japan and South Korea. The fish is expensive and revered in Japan, but some people complain that it tastes bland. Unlicensed chefs attempting to prepare the dish can cause deaths. There are reports of pufferfish making people appear dead, but these claims are unproven. Scientists have developed a non-venomous variant of the fish, but some argue that the poison is part of the attraction to the dish.
Fugu is a Japanese word for pufferfish or blowfish, referring to several types of fish (the most popular being the most poisonous, the tiger pufferfish), and also the name of meals prepared from these fish. What makes fugu interesting from so many perspectives is that most puffers contain a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, which can cause paralysis and, if enough venom is ingested, can cause death. The preparation of fugu must therefore be carefully regulated to ensure that very little of this poison remains. Only specially licensed and trained chefs are allowed to prepare the dish in Japan and South Korea. A handful of chefs also prepare puffer recipes in America, mostly in New York.
The majority of pufferfish venom is contained in the ovaries and organs, with the highest venom concentration in the liver. Chefs preparing fugu must be extremely careful when cutting the fish, so as to avoid introducing any part of the fish’s poisonous areas into the meal. Yet some chefs leave a small amount of poison in the prepared fugu, which can cause tingling in the mouth and lips.
Puffer meals are revered in Japan and are very expensive. A full meal can easily cost around $200 US$ (USD) or more, while a plate of fugu sushi or sashimi could cost around $20-60 USD. The cost may be even higher in the US since the fish is prepared in Japan and then sent by air to the US. Some people who have tried puffer fish suggest that it is not worth the price. They complain that the fish tastes bland. Others, especially in Japan, regard it as an extraordinary delicacy and celebrate its flavor and the inherent dangers of eating it.
It should be noted that few cases of fugu poisoning occur when licensed chefs prepare the fish, even if the rare case occurs. Yet Japan clearly sensed the danger, especially when homeless people scavenged for meals in restaurant trash cans and died of accidental poisoning. This has led to regulations regarding the safe disposal of all unusable parts of the fish.
Also, the Japanese do not allow their emperor to eat any kind of fugu, and there were times in Japanese history when the consumption of the fish in any form was prohibited, most notably during the Tokugawa shogunate, which lasted from the beginning from the 17th century through the mid-19th century. The European Union bans the sale of any type of puffer fish.
There are various accounts of the number of deaths attributed to fugu poisoning each year. Often these deaths, which can range from 10 to 150 people a year, depending on which account you read, are caused when unlicensed or amateur chefs try to make this dish themselves. It is definitely not a fish that should be prepared by someone who hasn’t been trained extensively.
There are bizarre reports of pufferfish making people appear dead and people waking up right before they are buried or cremated. Some people have suggested that the poison was used in Voodoo to create so-called zombies: people who appear to be dead and then appear to rise from the dead. These claims are unproven.
Scientists have developed a non-venomous variant of the puffer fish, which was accomplished by feeding the fish a special diet. It is believed that diet and the introduction of different forms of bacteria can cause the poison. By raising the fish in a controlled environment, a puffer species appears to be completely free of toxicity. Some people question whether removing the poison makes food less appealing, since some people get a thrill from eating a fish that could potentially cause death, and argue that ingesting small amounts of poison is actually part of the attraction to puffer meals.
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