China OKs puffer fish encore on restaurant tables

In fact, despite the government's ban on distributing and serving puffer fish on the Chinese mainland, quite a few cities in China have become famous for raising puffer fish, such as Yangzhong in Jiangsu province, and Dalian in Liaoning province. Some farm owners have even became star entrepreneurs that made news headlines over the past years.

Puffer fish from these farms are exported to loyal diners in Japan and South Korea, but many are distributed to Chinese markets and restaurants, according to Yang.

However, Yang emphasizes, farm-raised puffer fish are much less poisonous than wild ones.

Yun Wuxin, a widely acclaimed science writer on food safety, also says farm-raised puffer fish are much safer to eat.

In an article he published in Oriental Outlook magazine, Yun explains that tetrodotoxin builds in puffer fish through the food chain, and farms are able to control the food supply and water quality rather strictly to avoid accumulation of the poison in the fish.

Moreover, there are different kinds of puffer fish. While some have poisons mostly in inner organs, and some in almost all parts of the body, others are less likely to acquire the toxin, which makes it practical to provide low-toxic and even poison-free puffer fish through farming, Yun writes.

However, the new regulation allows only certified companies to raise two species of puffer fish, and the fish can only be distributed as processed products, not alive, Yun emphasizes.

Chef Yang says he applauds the government's new move to regulate the farming and sale of puffer fish.

In the past, despite the ban on puffer sale, many restaurants and individuals bought puffer fish secretly, which raised safety issues, especially when the original suppliers of the fish were not traceable. Now the new regulation sets clear practices for the industry to follow, and buyers are able to buy puffer fish produced with strict quality control, he says.

However, an anonymous executive of a famous restaurant chain says the new regulation only allows certain farms to raise and sell puffer fish, and doesn't allow restaurants to buy and cook living puffer fish - which means there will still be restaurants buying live specimens illegally to satisfy diners.