Since the early 1960s, the Menai Strait in North Wales has been home to mussel farmers, operating a “catch and grow” system. The farmers collect mussel seeds from wild beds in Morecambe Bay and Caernarfon Bar, placing them in lays situated in the sheltered waters of the Menai Strait for harvesting once they have grown. Sixty years on, the mussel farmers are concerned that their livelihoods may be lost due to shellfish classification sampling protocols and Brexit.

Safety first

Seafood safety is a top priority for seafood producers and the UK Government. To reduce the risks associated with E. coli that may accumulate in shellfish from the water, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) oversee a classification protocol that determines under which conditions shellfish can be sold for human consumption.

“Shellfish production and relaying areas are classified according to the levels of E. coli detected in shellfish flesh,” says Linden Jack, head of food and feed safety at the FSA. Local authorities or contractors collect samples from production areas from pre-determined representative monitoring points. Official laboratories then analyse the samples for E. coli.

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Read the full story at The Fish Site.