Foodies warned of poor hygiene at Netherlands sushi places

The sushi found at all-you-can-eat restaurants is often not fresh and not hygienically prepared, according to a study done by the consumer watchdog group Consumentenbond. The association investigated 20 all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants and found that the quality of the food is quite poor. According to the association, there are two reasons for this. The sushi is stored for too long and kept in too high temperatures, and the staff do not follow the hygiene rules - they do not wash their hands often enough and use dirty boards. The association found too much bacteria in 64 percent of the 160 portions of sushi they tested. In two restaurants, in Haarlem and Arnhem, they found too much bacteria in all the sushi they tested. In a sushi restaurant in Haarlem, the association found the E. coli bacteria. Only two of the 20 restaurants got an "acceptable" score at 5.9, the rest scored lower. To help consumers choose a good sushi restaurant, the consumers' association has the following tips: Smell the sushi, if it smells like fish, it's not fresh. Look to see if the sushi ingredients are being kept in refrigerated displays. And if the sushi looks dry, it is not a good sign. Food inspector Rob Geus is stunned by the Consumentenbond's findings. "To be honest, I am very shocked." he said in an interview with RTL Nieuws. "If only two of the 20 restaurants got a sufficient score, we really need to be careful." According to him, the idea that getting an unlimited amount of sushi for a pittance should lead you to expect not-so-great quality, is ridiculous. "If you pay for food in a restaurant, you can always expect that it is hygienically prepared. Whether you're paying 17 or 35 euros for a sushi-arrangement, the base is that the food must be clean."

Restaurant	City	Total score	Freshness (max. 5)	Hygeine (max. 5)	Sushi size	Amount of filling
Itoshiii	Hoofddorp	5.9	5	2	average	average
You Hachi	Hillegom	5.9	4	2	large	average
Izumi	Zandvoort	5.5	2	5	large	slim
Hasekura	Heerhugowaard	5.4	2	4	average	average
Shabu Shabu	Leiden	5.4	4	2	average	average
Konya	Goes	4.2	1	4	average	average
Sushi Tokio	Weert	3.9	4	1	average	average
Sushi Today	Amersfoort	3.5	2	2	average	average
Asian sushi boulevard	Tilburg	3.2	2	2	average	average
Sumo	Breda	3.2	2	2	average	much
Sumo	Den Haag - Prinsestraat	3.2	2	2	average	much
Sumo	Haarlem - Oude Groenmarkt	2.9	1	5	average	much
ParaPara	Lelystad	2.8	3	1	small	much
Shabu Shabu	Haarlem	2.8	1	4	average	average
Moshi Moshi	Rotterdam	2.7	2	1	average	much
Tomoyoshi	Hoogeveen	2.6	1	2	large	average
Yoshi	Gouda	2.3	1	2	small	average
Shabu Shabu	Amsterdam - Rembrandtplein	2.2	1	1	large	much
Sushi Koi	Arnhem	2.1	1	1	small	average
Yume	Apeldoorn	2.1	1	1	average	average

Table data provided by Consumentenbond