Delhi Restaurants to source sushi from other countries

NEW DELHI: The expanding radiation threat in Japan has prompted New Delhi to clamp down on food imports from that country.

After discussions, it was concluded that since radiation was spreading horizontally to other parts of Japan, it could result in further contamination of food exports from Japan. The ban therefore should be extended, food ministry officials said.

The ban puts India in a group of countries that include the US, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong, though not all food imports have been banned by these countries.

Restaurant owners in Mumbai and New Delhi assured the ban will not take sushi off the table immediately as they don’t always depend on imports from Japan. Salmon, for instance, comes from Scotland in many cases and for other ingredients (sauces, seaweed) there are substitutes available from Thailand, Vietnam or China.

“I think the government should be pragmatic and rather than impose a blanket ban, it should consider checking every consignment for contamination. If it is found free of radiation the import should be allowed,” said Farokh Khambata, owner of south Mumbai’s Joss restaurant, who assured he had enough stocks to last three months. One of India’s largest importers of Japanese food is based in Pune. Suku Shah’s firm, Olive Tree Trading, supplies to leading hotels and restaurants across the country.


(With inputs from Bella Jaisinghani & Pronoti Datta in Mumbai and Shreya Roy Chowdhury in Delhi)