Sushi chefs are complaining that a recent EU health and safety directive will wreck the quality of their food. The EU demands that raw fish must first be frozen to a temperature of minus 4 degrees Celsius for a day or more in order to kill any parasites present. The chefs, who include Michelin-starred Ichiro Kubuta who runs Umu in London’s Mayfair, claim that the freezing and defrosting process draws moisture out of the flesh and ruins taste and texture. They point out that fresh fish has been used in Japan for centuries without ill-effects. Although the directive was passed last year, the Food Standards Agency has only recently begun to enforce it in sushi restaurants, of which there are more than 500 in the UK. Daily Telegraph 28/7/07 page 11