Japanese call off 'sushi police' - Bangkok Post
No 'authenticity' tests for restaurants abroad

Japanese restaurants overseas fearing a surprise raid by ''sushi police'' to check their culinary credentials can relax: a plan to certify whether or not they serve ''authentic'' food is now by request only. The Agriculture Ministry's original idea last year to certify the authenticity of food served in Japanese restaurants abroad came under fire as ''food nationalism'' and a waste of tax money. But Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka said on Friday he would go ahead with a modified proposal to check overseas Japanese restaurants for their authenticity, but only at the request of the restaurant, Kyodo news agency said.

Food purists have been dismayed by some of the menu offerings at Japanese restaurants overseas, such as the ''Philadelphia roll'' _ a dish purporting to be sushi that uses smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber instead of raw fish _ as well as Vietnamese, Thai or Indonesian cooking masquerading as Japanese. A panel of experts set up by the ministry has recommended that restaurants requesting the authenticity check be tested by an organisation, to be set up soon, whose members will be private-sector Japanese food experts and representatives of the agriculture and marine product industries. The test would centre on food staples, such as miso soybean paste and rice, along with cooking techniques, seasoning and food layout, Kyodo quoted the panel as saying. If the restaurant ''passed'' the test, it would receive an official recommendation mark.

Agriculture Ministry officials were unavailable for comment, but Mr Matsuoka wrote last year that a certification system would ''deepen the understanding of Japanese food'' overseas, boost exports of Japanese farm products and perhaps even attract more tourists to Japan.

Critics of the original proposal noted that Japan has actually adapted many foreign foods to its own tastes. It also considers dishes such as ''tonkatsu'' pork cutlets and batter-fried ''tempura'' seafood and vegetables to be Japanese, despite their foreign origins."

Bangkok Post

Do they think Smoked Salmon is cooked?

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