quality assurance | seafood safety

We are determined to always provide simply the healthiest and freshest food to our customers. Our determination extends to the foods that we select for our sushi and Japanese cuisine. We do this by using as much sustainable seafood as possible. We work to protect our customers through our purchasing decisions, which include:

1) China is the third largest seafood exporter of seafood to the United States. The majority of this seafood is farmed, and unsustainable. Some eel, shrimp and seaweed, used in sushi products, are imported from China. Edo Sushi Express does not buy any of these sushi items that are manufactured and imported from China. | read more |

2) Edo Sushi Express, and all other sushi providers, cannot avoid all seafood imported from China. | read more |

3) However, we can make choices about other foods that we use.  In particular we make important choices about the tuna that we use in our sushi. This concern is caused by the level of mercury found in different types of tuna

Mercury is a naturally occurring metallic substance that is used in manufacturing around the world. Large doses of mercury can be impairing of normal nervous system and brain development. In particular, women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or nursing and young children should avoid eating fish that has the possibility of increased levels of mercury. | read more | 

Mercury in tuna is a major concern for sushi lovers, and we address that with the type of tuna that we use in all over venues. EDO SUSHI EXPRESS NEVER USES BLUEFIN TUNA.  We instead use Yellowfin Tuna which has a lower level of mercury. 

King mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish are the four fish the FDA found may have mercury levels above 1 part per million (ppm). These species accumulate mercury as they grow larger because they consume large amounts of small fish. All four combined add up to a very small amount (about 1%) of the fish Americans eat. The average mercury level in the types of fish Americans eat is low – 0.086 ppm, weighted for consumption.

Commercial fishermen capture large fish at sea, far from any source of industrial pollution. The mercury in their system must come from natural sources. For years, we have probably eaten some fish with mercury levels above FDA's limit without harmful effects. Analysis of museum specimens of tuna caught from 1879 to 1909 reveal that they contain similar levels of mercury as those in fish being caught today. Scientists therefore conclude that mercury levels in ocean fish have not changed in the past 100 years. 

Researchers found that some fish, including tuna, can block and reduce the toxicity of mercury in their tissues. This research may explain how we have safely eaten fish containing levels of mercury higher than allowed by FDA. Most experts agree that the 1 ppm action level for methyl mercury in fish has a considerable margin of safety built into it. However, it is still important in your seafood consumption to be alert to mercury levels. | read more |