Rocky sushi is fine: food expert

FOOD EXPERT: Associate Professor Larelle Fabbro.

Supplied

A TODAY Tonight producer has bitten back at Go Sushi Rockhampton owner Glenda Johnson’s claims the Channel 7 show ran a sensationalist report on the food this week.

But, their claim that there was lots of dodgy sushi in different parts of Australia crawling with dangerous bacteria doesn’t appear to apply to the Rockhampton area.

Food expert Associate Professor Larelle Fabbro happens to enjoy sushi.

And she has reassured Rockhampton’s sushi lovers the region has one of the most stringent food-testing regimes.

Earlier this week Ms Johnson labelled the Today Tonight report sensationalist and misleading.

The report said testing had shown four out of five sushi samples in certain areas of Australia were crawling with bacteria which could cause serious illness.

Associate Professor Fabbro, an environmental scientist at CQUniversity, said when buying any type of prepared food people should look to see how clean the outlet was, if there was a good stocking system operating and a cabinet to keep the food at the right temperature as well as if the product looked fresh.

“With rice products it’s important to keep them well chilled,” Associate Professor Fabbro said.

“I eat sushi regularly and have never been ill.”

She said because Rockhampton was in the tropics the council had a more vigilant testing regime than those in other places.

“It’s a very high standard and reassuring,” Associate Professor Fabbro said.

A council spokeswoman yesterday said council had received three food poisoning allegations this year, all of which had been investigated with no compliance issues made.

This is for more than 610 food premises licensed by council and a population of over 111,000.

Associate Professor Fabbro didn’t see the Today Tonight report.

Today Tonight state producer Rodney Lohse said he was “somewhat concerned and dismayed” by Ms Johnson’s comments in yesterday’s Bully.

“Yes, we are all aware bacteria are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we should be flippant about food safety,” Mr Lohse said.

“The Today Tonight investigation found there was bacteria present in sushi but more concerning was finding it to be at dangerous levels in more than one in 10 samples.

“Sorry, if Glenda finds this sensationalist but Queensland Health doesn’t, they found it concerning.

“So concerning Biotech Laboratories which conducted the testing on our behalf found it necessary to report their findings to Queensland Health before even we were notified.

“Queensland Health then immediately sent field officers to investigate and take action.”

He said Today Tonight’s investigation found dangerous levels of bacillus cereus, staphylococcus and listeria.

“Listeria at the levels found can be deadly and if the sushi roll we bought with listeria inside had of been consumed by a pregnant woman, well the risk of miscarriage is just not worth taking,” Mr Lohse said.

“While we didn’t test Go Sushi in Rockhampton you can be assured we will next time.

“Enjoy your sushi but demand high standards and be careful.”