From the deep freeze to sushi success

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Frozen sushi may be an affront to purist connoisseurs of the Japanese delicacy of raw fish and rice. But to Tad Iwamoto of FIFO Food Systems, it is a booming business.

The former Honda engineer spent six years in the United States developing flash-frozen sushi with a shelf life of up to four months.

"First three years [was] just a disaster -- one failure after another," he said. "I thought 'I'm going to lose all my money and my wife.'"

But his wife, Yuki Iwamoto, didn't leave. Together the couple spend almost a million dollars and worked day and night to conquer problems with their product: everything from freezer burn to dried rice.

Iwamoto

"Frozen is one of the most important things but the other important thing is defrosting by microwave," Iwamoto said.

The freezing process can keep sushi edible longer and help reduce the risk of bacteria contamination.

"All we need to do is follow the thawing procedures and serve," said Bob Elling of Host Marriott Services. "It really significantly reduces the risk."

Iwamoto developed the defrosting process, a new method to prepare the rice and the formula to calculate the perfect temperature to flash-freeze the sushi. And he said he plans to keep them all a secret.

RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Jennifer Auther reports
Windows Media	28K	56K

This isn't the first time someone has attempted to freeze sushi. Iwamota said the Japanese tried it unsuccessfully 13 years ago, and they are now trying to learn his special frozen-sushi techniques.

"Almost every month, somebody comes up with some kind of idea to get in here," he said.

The Food and Drug Administration is monitoring Iwamoto's company which is now selling to an airline, hotels and eateries, including one at the Los Angeles International Airport.

Iwamoto said he hopes to have the frozen sushi in supermarkets sometime in the next six months.