(March 19, 2013 at 2:31 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(March 19, 2013 at 2:09 pm)whateverist Wrote: Had some in a restaurant in Japan where they'd scoop the live fish from an aquarium, slice it up and have it on you plate almost before it stopped twitching. Extremely good. Gory, but yummy.
Yeah, I don't need to meet the meat.
Not only is that method a tad gory, it's also a great way to get intestinal parasites - this is why fish destined for raw consumption in the US is recommended to be frozen by the FDA (with the exception of tuna). That's not to say that you can't get fresh sushi at your own peril.
ETA: Apparently the FDA only issues recommendations, and leaves it up to the states as to what the requirements are. Some require freezing, some don't.
You have more risk of getting sick of a door nob someone else touched before you than getting sick from sushi. At least in the west because most people don't eat it every single day. And if you did it would be more likely that you got sick from the cook or wait staff's poor handling of the food.
