Cynthia Labelle-Tun, president of Edo Sushi Express, writes in Food Safety Magazine:

I have been involved in the sushi industry since 2000 when my husband, Thihan Tun, and I opened Tun Asian Foods. We were an exclusive on-site sushi provider for Stop & Shop Supermarkets between 2002 and 2005. In 2005, we parted ways with Stop & Shop and decided to change our focus to delivery sushi in the New England region. Since then we have worked to provide safe and delicious food to businesses throughout the region.

Our strong focus on food safety came about due to our decision to focus on delivering fresh sushi. We already had a basic on-site Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan and Standard Operating Procedures, but delivering fresh sushi requires special handling due to perishability issues. This caused Edo Sushi Express to begin the long road to a deeper understanding of sushi food safety. One of the results of this road was the law in Connecticut changing the way the health department looks at sushi rice.
Sushi rice as a cause of human illness or death could not be found by this author.

However, local health officials get very concerned when sushi rice is held in a rice warmer with a temperature of approximately 110 °F. Rice falls under the category of starchy foods served warm during meals. Normally, it would be held at a temperature of 135 °F or above to avoid bacterial growth. If the rice is not acidified, the temperature must be below 41 °F or above 135 °F.
Sushi chefs in the United States are usually trained by their peers and/or the companies they work for. The lead sushi chef must usually have an up-to-date ServSafe food handling license.

Another requirement for most sushi bars today is an HACCP plan. The HACCP plan will document the risks involved with making sushi and make note of the need for rice acidification.  The seasoned vinegar added to sushi rice acidifies it. The pH must be maintained below 4.6. Acidified rice is considered, in most places, to be considered potentially nonhazardous.
In fact, sushi rice is not a food hazard if it is made correctly. The preparation of sushi rice is different than regular rice. After the rice is steamed, it is cooled for a short time; seasoned rice vinegar is then mixed in with the cooked rice. It is the responsibility of the sushi chef to check the pH level of the rice using litmus paper or a pH testing monitor. The pH level is recorded in a pH log. This pH log is a tool for the local health official to check on the safety of the sushi rice.

In Connecticut, as a sushi bar operator and sushi supplier, our company has had to deal with the lack of a state-wide accurate policy on sushi rice safety. This lack of a coherent policy has made the actions of local health officials subjective about sushi rice. A sushi chef in one health district is met with differing requirements from a health district in the next county. Some examples of subjective decisions by health inspectors include:
1) A health inspector stated that after 2 hours at room temperature, the sushi rice had to be discarded.
2) A different health inspector insisted that sushi rice had to be held at 41 °F while making sushi.
3) A third health inspector insisted that the rice had to be above 135 °F at all times during the sushi-making process.

These were clear examples of how the lack of a state-wide food safety policy for sushi rice leads to confusion for the sushi chef trained in rice acidification. In fact, with all the discussion about sushi rice, the fragility of fish at room temperature was never mentioned in any of these situations.

The only way to deal with this type of situation is to change the law. If there is no law, then it needs to be created. Most states have different agencies dealing with different food venues. They might include the Department of Agriculture (grocery stores), Department of Public Health (catering, special events) and Department of Consumer Protection (restaurants). Interestingly, food safety laws and rules are not always shared between agencies. This is true in Connecticut. The law regarding sushi rice has to be changed on a per agency basis.

The Connecticut sushi rice law is the only one of its kind in the United States. It was signed by Governor Malloy in July 2015. Prior to this law, the Department of Public Health and local health departments were not required to allow acidification of sushi rice as an alternative to refrigeration. This new law gives the Department of Public Health the flexibility to make specific demands that will more than likely include a pH log, a rice recipe tested by a lab and an HACCP plan. The final text of the law reads as follows:
“Not later than October 1, 2016, the Commissioner of Public Health…with the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, shall adopt regulations…to allow the acidification of sushi rice as an alternative to temperature control under specified circumstances.”