Clarification appended

Jennifer Morrissey is a self-proclaimed "sushi snob."

"I actually really like sushi, but I have to get it at certain places," Morrissey (junior-animal sciences) said. "I'm from Annapolis, Maryland, so I know the fish is really fresh [there]."

For raw fish aficionados such as Morrissey, sushi is widely available in State College; stores like Giant, Wegmans and McLanahan's sell sushi daily.

But some chefs and sushi experts who convened for an international restaurant summit in Tokyo last month are warning of a lack of awareness in handling raw fish among amateurs in the industry, according to a Reuters article published on MSNBC.com. It's a concern that's shared in the Penn State community.

"I am careful about where I eat sashimi -- which is raw fish -- especially here in Central Pennsylvania," nutrition instructor Anne Corr said. "Sushi grade fish is difficult to come by and expensive."

Masaya Matsui, a Pollock Dining Commons exhibition cook who runs sushi stations in Pollock Dining Commons about once a month, said the quality of sushi here is an issue.

Most of the raw fish used for sushi in State College comes from Pittsburgh, he said. The fish probably sits in plastic containers for more than a week before it arrives in State College, he said, adding that makes it "easy to get bacteria."

"Here sushi quality is really poor -- probably I would say almost an 'F,' almost a 'Fail'," Matsui said.

But people get "a little bit too nervous" about eating sushi around here, he said.

"I'm weirded out because we're not close to the water; how fresh can they make it if they have to ship it out here?" Josh Quat (freshman-musical theatre) said. "It just kind of sketches me out. I don't consider this real sushi. If I'm getting raw fish, I want it to be really fresh and from somewhere I can trust."

Grocery store sushi is "edible, but just not good enough to say it's sushi," Matsui said. That sushi, and even sushi in Japanese restaurants in this area, is not made with the quality of care used in Japan, he said. Many Japanese restaurants have Chinese or Korean owners, who aren't as well-trained as Japanese chefs, he said.

"It takes many years to become a sushi chef in Japan," he said. "All the people around here, they just skip all those things, just make it look like the way it's supposed to be."

Matsui trained in Japan for six years and worked as a sushi chef in New York City for 13 years, he said. He added that in New York City, Japanese-owned fish stores take better care in handling fish.

"Around here, still they [aren't] really careful enough to deal with raw fish because it's just annoying. It's just too rough. And it's just not careful enough," he said.

Sushi is popular in Japan, but expensive, so people don't eat it often, Matsui said.

"Around here, it's becoming like a fast food, but sushi is very expensive food," Matsui said. "Most people, they don't really eat sushi all the time because there is all kinds of yummy Japanese food."

The sushi chef for Panda Express was a sushi chef in Philadelphia before Panda Express hired him four years ago, general manager Pam Watters said. Other employees are also trained to make sushi, she said.

"They change their gloves and wash their hands every time just in case there are people who don't eat fish or are allergic to fish and prefer just the vegetable roll," she said. "You don't want to make the same mistakes that other people make."

Beth Shore (senior-English and political science) has "an aversion to thinking about raw fish."

"I'm a really picky eater. I prefer carbs and cheese," Shore said.

The word "sushi" actually means "seasoned rice," Corr said.

"Sushi is a good food: very clean and healthy, and you can taste what you're eating," Matsui said.

Matsui's next sushi exhibition will be April 24.

This article unclearly states the delivery process for raw fish. According to the State Department of Agriculture, sushi ingredients must be frozen for seven days at -4 degrees Fahrenheit or below or for 15 hours at -31 degrees Fahrenheit.