Safe "Engineered" Fugu, Sans Gene Manipulation 55
zlel writes "Did anyone figure that you could get clean, poison-free Fugu without genetic engineering? According to this story, a group of researchers at Nagasaki University managed to do just that - they bred Fugu by giving them poison-free feed. They tried to get Japan to modify its ban on the sale of Fugu liver - but authorities felt that this was too big a risk - so in the meantime, you gotta trust your chefs." Anyone willing to translate for the Japanese-impaired?
reason why fugu tasted so good was the poison (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if it would be possible to have a fugu with just very small doses of the poison so that we can eat it, get high and not die. Now that would be cool!
The point is that, (Score:4, Interesting)
They does not find how to farm poison-free fugu, but make sure demonstlation of it.
It is known that the poison of Fugu fish, tetradotoxin, is not came from Fugu itself. The poison is came from their feed, some marine bioproducts(Staphyloccus, Bacillus, Micrococcus, Alteromonas, Acinetobacter, etc.).
There is no doubt that the scientist who found the source of poison of fugu make great work. But, in practical science, making good experiment is as important as theorem. This is the first experiment that proves poison-free fugu can be farmed by practical method.
Re:Is it worth it? (Score:2, Interesting)
That said, I still enjoy saying I did it and have no regrets at all.
Re:What's the point? (Score:4, Interesting)
That's the part about the meal that people like.
The toxin is heat sensitive, so the key is to cook the fish long enough to kill enough toxin so that you get the desired effect without killing yourself.
Get-rich-quick (Score:2, Interesting)
1) Fugu is expensive because of the risk of death; a hurt customer closes the restaurant and the chef won't work again;
2) The numbness in one's lips is the only way to tell if it was prepared correctly (with a smidgen of poison).
Accordingly, I predict the rise of pseudo-fugu franchises, which might actually make a bit of money for a few years:
i) Set up, serve known-safe fugu with a bit of local anaesthetic injected into the liver, or wherever;
ii)
iii) Profit!