Food critic Keith Lee’s video causes popular sushi bar to close in the US

Food critic Keith Lee went to Seattle to review the food at the famous sushi restaurant chain ‘Fob Sushi Bar’. He posted a video of his review on TikTok on November 10. Although Lee did not criticize the restaurant and seemed to have a good experience, things changed after his followers saw a video of him eating sashimi. According to , several viewers reported that they saw something moving in the sashimi and thought it was a “worm”. Visitors criticized the restaurant and raised safety concerns.

In a follow-up video, Lee addressed the issue, saying that it appears something happened on the sashimi. He said he could not “confirm or deny” whether it was a worm or not. He shared that he did not experience any suspected side effects or illness, but claims that one person alleged that he was hospitalized the next day after eating at the same chain.

After receiving feedback, the restaurant denied reports of any “bugs” in the food and called it a rumour. The restaurant said on its official Instagram handle that the movement in the video is due to the natural elasticity of the fish.

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The restaurant said, “We are so grateful for your support and @keith_lee125’s recent visit! We would like to directly address the inaccurate statement regarding our sashimi. At FOB Sushi, we are committed to ensuring the highest quality and safety. Adheres to strict FDA and HACCP standards. The ingredients in each dish are due to the natural flexibility of the fish, so be sure to trust us and not the insects. Thanks for the support Sushi.”

However, on November 18, 10 days after the incident, the sushi bar shared that they were now closing two of their outlets “until further notice” and investigating the situation.

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The statement read, “Dear valued customers, in response to recent food safety concerns, we have decided to close our FOB Sushi locations in Seattle and Bellevue until further notice. Your health and safety is our top priority. We are fully Kindly investigating.” Address the situation and take all necessary measures to prevent it from happening again. To our community, we are deeply grateful for your years of support and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are dedicated to providing you the highest quality sushi.”

It is still unclear whether the sashimi served to the food critic contained maggots.