New fish regulations, and how they don't help kosher

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) released yet another promising looking press release about its upcoming action plan to protect against seafood fraud.  For kosher customers, the main concern is species substitution, the (historically significant)insidious practice of lying about the species being sold and getting away with it (when skinless) since there is no way of identifying the fish without skin.

Today, the Presidential Task Force on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud, co-chaired by the Departments of Commerce and State, released its action plan (ED:based on the full report here).  

Background: lots of countries do stuff when catching fish the US doesn't like.  This report details what the US doesn't like, and calls out countries that violate that (primarily, so it seems to me) to be able to put trade restrictions against those countries or otherwise engage in protectionist practices. 

Issues relating to kosher: these vessels often caught/injured protected species including turtle and shark (not kosher). There is no evidence that the instances of turtle or shark on tuna vessels compromised kosher certification.

Non-addressing of issues relating to kosher: our major issue is that there is nothing (really) stopping someone from fraudulently misrepresenting a kosher species for a non-kosher one.  Though technically economic fraud is forbidden, it is rampant, has been going on for decades and everyone knows about it.  To be fair, most of it doesn't relate to kosher, but is rather "gotcha" issues.  Studies such as Oceana note that "white tuna" (escolar) isn't a tuna at all (despite being kosher, and only being forbidden because FDA hasn't officially recognized "white tuna" as a legitimate market name for escolar, though anyone who wants to knows what it is).  Or wild salmon being substituted for (cheaper) farmed (yawn.)  Or various species of (easier to get) snapper being sold as "red snapper" instead of the market approved "scarlet snapper", "pink snapper", etc.

For kosher customers, there is no quick and easy fix.  We cannot rely on any gov't entity to guarantee species integrity.  The cheap, simple and easy fix?  Buy skin on, check it for simanim.  Nuf said.  

What's the story with Costco Salmon (Part I, to rinse or not...)

Its that time of year again when apparently no one has anything else on their minds other than "what's the story with Costco (Kirkland) Frozen Salmon for Passover".  If this product would have a Passover hashgacha, I wonder what I'd do all day.  Since it doesn't, the office is inundated with various variations on this question.

OK, here's the story with the "why does it say I should rinse wild salmon" inquiry:

1. Kirkland sells both wild and farmed salmon products in their freezer section, typically 3lb bags with multiple portions (individually wrapped in clear plastic, often mixed with a salt brine to keep them moist).  See below:

2. A concern was raised several years ago that some wild salmon fisheries glaze the fish with a solution made of a minute amount of corn syrup (batul MANY times past shishim).  Most glazes are plain water, or salt water.  The purpose of the glaze is to protect the fish from bruising and dehydration, so the advantage of adding small amounts of corn syrup is minimal and its use (while legal) isn't all that extensive.

3. Corn syrup itself is kitniyos shenishtaneh, meaning that even for Ashkenazim we would normally be lenient (particularly since the amount is VERY batul, and it is used before Passover and otherwise unable to be detected).  However, since there was a concern, it was deemed appropriate to recommend consumers rinse the offending glaze off of the wild portions.

4. Why are wild different than farmed?  Due to the nature of the processing plant, we have never seen farmed fish glazed prior to their injection with the salt water brine (which effectively does that job).

5. As such, it was recommended to rinse wild, with no need to rinse farmed, and technically there is no need to rinse wild either (just a Passover stringency).

They see "parasite" and everyone gets nervous

The latest news story in the ongoing saga to make fish forbidden was (unfortunately for the forbidders) a crab and not a parasite  found in a can of (non-OU, as far as we know) tuna.

For the record:

1. Tuna sometimes eat crab and other non-kosher fish.  They rarely find their way into cans.
2, Even if it would have been the parasite it appeared to be (which is assur since it is found in the fishes mouth, and all agree that bugs found there are forbidden -- See RA"E to YD 84:16 with his version of Sha"ch from wording of gemara) it is found in the head which is not part of commercially processed tuna.  Interestingly enough, it eats the tongue of its host and then grabs from everything the fish eats.  Ingrate!
3. A single instance of anything forbidden is not basis for forbidding other things.  How often does it happen?  So infrequently that it was newsworthy.  Nuf said.

Bottom line: continue to enjoy your canned tuna without fear of parasites, though if you open a can and see something looking back at you... remove it.

Return to blogging!

Dear Reader:

Sometimes, we need to take our own advice.  While speaking to someone about blogging on a topic they have expertise in, I remembered you, my dear kosherfish fans.  As of today, I've had over 6300 views (and most are not just me and my mom... I hope).  If so, someone out there may be interested in the latest in kosher fish, and I intend to (bli neder) bring that back to you.  Email kosher questions to goldbergc@ou.org, bearing in mine that this is my work email, and my blog is in no way connected to my work (other than that it is the source for most of what I know).

Gratefully,

Chaim

The history of tuna

Forgot I had this article, and thought other would enjoy reading it.

Fish coughs up golden watch

The story below can be viewed here, though I copied and pasted for your convenience. Anyone holding in Daf Yomi, I am pretty sure someone can keep the watch, as it should have a "din" of "zuto shel yam", unless I'm missing something. A modern day "Yosef mokir Shabbos"!!!

ELE‘ELE — With tennis shoes on, wallet in pocket and a bamboo stick in hand, Kaua‘i resident Curt Carish on Wednesday may have written himself into the most eccentric fisherman’s history book.To catch a fish with such simple gear would be an interesting tale in itself. But after Carish hauled in a nenue, the 10-inch fish coughed up a gold watch.“I was just sitting on a picnic table looking out into the ocean of Port Allen beach when I saw a nice-size fish awkwardly swimming close to shore,” Carish said. “So my friend Allen Hall gave me a bamboo stick and said, ‘Go get ‘em.’”Carish jumped into the waist-high water and struck the nenue a few times with the dull stick until the fish went limp.He said its stomach was abnormally large but he just threw the fish in the cooler along with his frozen chicken that he was going to barbecue that night.Tanley, a good friend of Carish, opened the cooler minutes later to discover a gold watch laying inches from the nenue’s mouth.“And the funniest thing is that the watch was on time and still ticking,” Carish said.Carish, who often hangs out at the private Port Allen Club with many other members, said in all of his 30 years on Kaua‘i he has never encountered anything this bizarre.

New York - Swedish Study Finds Fish Diet Boosts Intelligence Scores

The article was taken from here, though despite finding several news sources citing it from "DPA" I could not locate a DPA. Maybe I need to eat more fish...

New York - A regular intake of fish appears to boost intelligence scores in teenagers, according to a new Swedish study. The research suggested that 15-year-old males, who ate fish at least once a week, had "higher cognitive skills at the age of 18 than those who ate it less frequently."
The fish diet appeared to "increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of 6 per cent."
Eating fish more than once a week almost doubled the score, according to the study published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica said.
The researchers used responses from 3,972 males in the survey with cognitive scores registered in their Swedish military conscription records three years later.
"We found a clear link between frequent fish consumption and higher scores when the teenagers ate fish at least once a week," said Professor Kjell Toren of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, western Sweden.

Toren said the findings were "significant" since the research was conducted between 15 and 18 years of age "when educational achievements can help to shape the rest of a young man's life."
The researchers said they did not know what mechanism was linked to fish consumption and improved cognitive performance.
One theory was the benefits were linked to long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish.
The leading author of the study, Dr Maria Aberg from the Centre for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation at the University of Gothenburg, said the team had considered other factors including ethnicity, where the teenagers lived, what level of education their parents had achieved, how often the teenagers exercised, their well-being and weight.
"Having looked very carefully at the wide range of variables explored by this study it was very clear that there was a significant association between regular fish consumption at 15 and improved cognitive performance at 18," Aberg said.
The researchers are now set to investigate whether the results were affected by the kind of fish eaten.

Rabbi Chaim Goldberg presenting at Lander College for Men

UPDATE:

Around 30 students attended our Lander College excursion, where we talked about tilapia, trout, basa vs flounder, and salmon. A good time was had by all, especially me!!!

You can hear it by following the link here!

Lander College for Men 75-31 150th Street Kew Gardens Hills, NY Tuesday, March 17th from 5-6pm

THE KASHRUS OF FISH IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
A DEMONSTRATION
Given by
Rabbi Chaim Goldberg, Shlita
OU Fish Rabbinic Coordinator

Come one, come all!!!