Why are blowfish deadly

Puffer fish contain one of the most deadly natural poisons. In Japan fugu puffer fish are considered a delicacy. Specially trained chefs prepare them in such a way so diners can experience a small tingle or numbness to their lips when eating. However, it is still not uncommon for poisoning and even death to occur.

Pufferfish, either alive or dead, can be fatal to both humans and dogs alike if ingested in large enough quantities. The fish doesn't just have to be eaten, even just chewing or licking can lead to a serious case of poisoning.

At first your pooch may seem fine, but without treatment paralysis can soon set in. Highly toxic puffer fish can be washed ashore.

Others specifically asked to eat the dangerous organs, such as the liver or ovaries. It isn't completely safe though, people have still been hospitalized or have died after having it at a restaurant, but the percentage is rather low. In fact, according to the statistics from the Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health, out of the deaths reported in Tokyo between to , only one occurred at a restaurant.

Since the year s, other statistics indicate that on average about one person a year dies from it due to improper self-preparation. The symptoms of fugu poisoning are slightly different from the typical food poisoning symptoms. First, you will feel a tingling sensation on your tongue which indicates that the poison has entered your body and is attacking your neurotransmitters. Next, you will feel symptoms listed above in the pictogram, dizziness, etc.

You will then have trouble breathing, which is part of the loss of your motor functions. Eating blowfish liver can lead to motor nerves paralysis and to respiratory and cardiac arrest, which leads to death. A respirator is the only thing that will save the victim as there are no known antidotes.

The authorities in Tokyo impose stricter regulations than any other Japanese city. In some, restaurants have already been able to sell pre-prepared fugu for a long time. And even in Tokyo these days, it is available over the internet and in some supermarkets - one reason why officials think the rules need updating.

In terms of cost, it is likely fugu would become available in cheaper restaurants and pubs izakayas. But going to a proper fugu restaurant to eat good wild-caught fish, prepared on-site, is quite a luxury - because of the cost, if nothing else - and also quite an event.

For many, playing the equivalent of Russian roulette at the dinner table is the attraction of the dish. Some report a strange tingling of the lips from traces of the poison, although Miura-san thinks that is unlikely.

He also scoffs at the myth that a chef would be honour-bound to commit ritual suicide with his fish knife if he killed a customer. Loss of his licence, a fine, litigation or perhaps prison would be the penalty. Miura-san serves fugu stew, and grilled fugu with teriyaki sauce, but today it is fugu-sashimi on the menu.

He carefully slices the fish so thinly that when it is arranged like the petals of a chrysanthemum flower on a large dish the pattern beneath shows through.

Raw fugu is rather chewy and tastes mostly of the accompanying soy sauce dip. It is briefly poached in a broth set on a table-top burner - a dish known as shabu-shabu in Japan. Amazingly, the meat of some pufferfish is considered a delicacy.

Called fugu in Japan, it is extremely expensive and only prepared by trained, licensed chefs who know that one bad cut means almost certain death for a customer. In fact, many such deaths occur annually. There are more than species of pufferfish worldwide. Most are found in tropical and subtropical ocean waters, but some species live in brackish and even fresh water.

They have long, tapered bodies with bulbous heads. Some wear wild markings and colors to advertise their toxicity, while others have more muted or cryptic coloring to blend in with their environment. They range in size from the 1-inch-long dwarf or pygmy puffer to the freshwater giant puffer, which can grow to more than 2 feet in length. They are scaleless fish and usually have rough to spiky skin. All have four teeth that are fused together into a beak-like form.

The diet of the pufferfish includes mostly invertebrates and algae. Large specimens will even crack open and eat clams, mussels, and shellfish with their hard beaks. Poisonous puffers are believed to synthesize their deadly toxin from the bacteria in the animals they eat. Some species of pufferfish are considered vulnerable due to pollution, habitat loss, and overfishing, but most populations are considered stable.