Dear International Fugu Association members,
Hello everyone, this is the IFA representative Furukawa.
Finally, the Japanese government lifted the state of emergency in Tokyo.
Professional baseball games started, and we have returned to ordinary daily life a little. Still, the number of COVID patients is likely to increase little by little.
In the end, we rely on vaccination, but there are a lot of challenges.
Since the Olympic torch relay has started, I hope that the event will be held safely in July.
1) Japanese Fugu promotion in Malaysia. Please see the file in the link below.
https://www.seafood-show.com/fugu/malaysia2021/
After all, the Malaysian government extended the Movement Control Order (MCO) until the end of March and continued to restrict food services to serve in-store.
Under these circumstances, in cooperation with a local supplier, we held the campaign in February.
We sent Fugu to participating chefs and requested to return photos of their creative Fugu dishes.
With the full cooperation of the Malay Asian Cuisine, a famous Malaysian restaurant in Japan, we have developed Japanese Fugu dishes that match the local taste.
Malay Asian Cuisine (2-9-9 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
Owner & Chef: Mr. Char
* For cooking "Fugu," Malay Asian Cuisine received the "Fugu handling certificate" from Shibuya Ward Health Center in Tokyo.
* 5 types of dishes
We received 60 applications from restaurants in Malaysia for Fugu samples.
・ All applicants know Fugu,
・ Half of the applicants thought that it was no different from other fish,
・ Half of the applicants are interested in handling Fugu.
Along with the questionnaire result, such as above, the Fugu recipes arrived.
We can only introduce some of them, but many local dishes looked very delicious.
Traveling to Malaysia from Japan is difficult due to the pandemic.
We are very grateful for the local supplier's cooperation and hard work in a vast nation with many large cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Penang.
As a result, it was our first and successful promotion of Japanese Fugu for Malaysia.
I want to travel to Malaysia next time and do another promotion again.
My appreciation to everyone involved.
3) Named our Malaysia representative
Currently, the International Fugu Association has regional representatives in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and New Zealand.
We are happy to announce that Mr. ANDY TAN is now our representative of Malaysia.
We want to focus on expanding the Japanese Fugu market in Malaysia further.
4) Seafood Show Osaka 2021 held
The Japan Fisheries Association hosted the Seafood Show Osaka successfully from March 17th to 18th.
Following last summer, we organized the Fugu pavilion again.
Yoshida Suisan Co., Ltd. exhibited Fugu and Blackthroat seaperch sushi.
Shoryu Co., Ltd. provided Torafugu milt, and Fu Co., Ltd. a plain grilled eel for tasting.
The entire seafood show attracted about 5,400 buyers in two days,
Reflecting on the coronavirus pandemic, mail-order officials were noticeable.
5) The Science of Fugu Consumption (author: the former president of National Fisheries University Prof. Harumi Sakai) has been completed.
Many scientists and biologists have introduced Fugu's biological interest, the characteristics of resources, and the secrets of its deliciousness.
They have written 12 chapters on the distribution of Fugu and future issues as a food culture.
I contributed a column about Fugu HACCP.
Thanks to Dr. Sakai's kindness, we received a few extra copies.
If you wish a copy, please contact the secretariat.
We will send it to you at payment upon delivery.
Let's do our best to overcome the coronavirus!
We look forward to your continued guidance and encouragement.
