hijiki

In 1867 the word "hijiki" first appeared in an English-language publication: A Japanese and English Dictionary by James C. Hepburn.

Starting in the 1960s, the word "hijiki" started to be used widely in the United States,{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} and the product (imported in dried form from Japan) became widely available at natural food stores and Asian-American grocery stores, due to the influence of the macrobiotic movement, and in the 1970s with the growing number of Japanese restaurants.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

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Hijiki is green to brown in colour when found in the wild. Fishermen and professional divers harvest the hijiki with a sickle at low tide during the spring tide from May to March. After collection, the seaweed is boiled and dried before being sold as dried hijiki. Once processed, dried hijiki turns black. To prepare dried hijiki for cooking, it is first soaked in water then cooked with ingredients like soy sauce and sugar to make a dish that goes by the same name.

In Japan, hijiki is normally eaten with other foods such as vegetables or fish. It may be added to foods that have been steamed, boiled, marinated in soy sauce or fish sauce, cooked in oil, or added to soup, stir fries or quiches. Hijiki may be mixed with rice, but not used as a wrap, to prepare sushi. Konjac is typically prepared with hijiki mixed in to give the dish known by the same name its characteristic grey color and texture.

In Korea, the seaweed is called tot ({{lang|ko|톳}}) and eaten as namul (seasoned vegetable side dish) or cooked with bap (rice).

Several government food safety agencies advise consumers to avoid consumption of hijiki seaweed. Testing showed that it contains significantly higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic than other types of seaweed, and these results have been independently verified.{{cite journal|first=Martin|last=Rose|year=2007|journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology|volume=45|pages=1263–1267|title=Arsenic in seaweed - Forms, concentration and dietary exposure|doi=10.1016/j.fct.2007.01.007|pmid=17336439|issue=7|display-authors=etal}} Government food safety agencies that advise against consumption include the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA),[http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/arsenice.shtml Inorganic Arsenic and Hijiki Seaweed Consumption] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107042749/http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/arsenice.shtml |date=2007-01-07 }}, P0157E-01, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2001 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the United Kingdom,{{cite web|title=Consumers advised not to eat hijiki seaweed|publisher=FSA of the United Kingdom|date=5 August 2010|url=http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130418141202/http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed|archive-date=18 April 2013}} and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).{{cite web|url=http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/fsrio/printresults.php?ID=4968|title=Survey of Total and Inorganic Arsenic in Seaweed - Food Safety Research Information Office|access-date=30 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328011453/http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/fsrio/printresults.php?ID=4968 |archive-date=28 March 2014}}

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan responded with a report pointing out that while the consumption of more than 4.7 g hijiki seaweed per day could result in an intake of inorganic arsenic that exceeds the tolerable daily intake for this substance, the average daily consumption for Japanese people is estimated at 0.9 g.{{cite web|url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2004/07/tp0730-1.html|title=Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, Q&A about the arsenic in hijiki seaweed, in Japanese|access-date=30 September 2014}} Several of the reports{{which|date=August 2018}} from other food safety agencies acknowledged that occasional hijiki consumption was unlikely to cause significant health risks but advised against all consumption regardless.

Although no known illnesses have been associated with consuming hijiki seaweed to date, inorganic arsenic has been identified as carcinogenic to humans. Exposure to inorganic arsenic has been linked with gastrointestinal effects, anemia, and liver damage.{{Cite web |date=2000 |title=Arsenic Compounds |url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/arsenic-compounds.pdf }} People who follow a macrobiotic diet that often includes large amounts of seaweed may be at greater risk.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

• Arsenic poisoning

{{Reflist}}

{{cite journal|last1=Zou|first1=Hui-xi|last2=Pang|first2=Qiu-Ying|last3=Zhang|first3=Ai-Qin|title=Excess copper induced proteomic changes in the marine brown algae Sargassum fusiforme|journal=Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (2015)|date=January 2015|volume=111|pages=271–280|doi=10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.10.028|pmid=25450944|bibcode=2015EcoES.111..271Z }}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070107042749/http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/arsenice.shtml Canadian Food Inspection Agency] — Factsheet
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060901151207/http://www.fehd.gov.hk/safefood/report/hijiki/ Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong] — Hijiki and Arsenic
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051226143337/http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/faq/hijikiqanda/ Food Standards Agency of the United Kingdom] — Hijiki: your questions answered
• [http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/publications/media-releases/2004-10-21.htm New Zealand Food Safety Authority] — Hijiki media release
• [https://archive.today/20070315071835/http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/006/Y4765E/y4765e0b.htm Seaweeds Used as Human Food]

{{Commons category|Sargassum fusiforme}}

{{Japanese food and drink}}

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Category:Fucales

Category:Japanese condiments

Category:Japanese cuisine terms

Category:Japanese vegetables

Category:Korean condiments

Category:Edible seaweeds