With katsuobushi as the inspiration,an idea formed to begin work on developing a similar product using pork,termed butabushi. As the technique and product developed,a good deal of fungi grew on its surface,and the question of safety for consumption became hugely important.To answer this question,samples were sent to microbiologists at Harvard University who did DNA sequencing and
analysis. Through the process of sequencing and assem-bling the phylogeny,it was found that fungi inherent to our environment were present that may have had an impact on the end product.To determine the most replicable method for creating the butabushi, testing began using un-inoculated pork as the control,and inoculating other samples with isolates of both our‘‘in-house’’mold,as well as a traditional Japanese mold used for a number of fermented products, Aspergillus orzyae. Strains of this fungal genus Aspergillus are used in sake, soy and miso
production (Wadaetal.,1991; Steinkraus,1996).