Province Targets Unfrozen Raw Fish

By Joshua Errett

The Ontario government has a new message for the province’s unfrozen raw fish: You can swim, but you can’t hide! Starting Jan. 1, 2005, Ontario will take a swipe at the illness known as anisakiasis by banning unfrozen raw fish in restaurants. Unfrozen raw fish (street name: “sushi”) can very rarely carry a parasitic roundworm that burrows into the stomach or intestine. The Ontario crackdown on unfrozen raw fish will force the sushi chefs to freeze the fish at -20 C for at least seven days. In preparation for the ban, Toronto’s sushi restaurants are planning to serve unfrozen raw pit bulls instead.