Australia's only mussel with NASAA organic certification  and Friends of Sea environmental certification

Mussel Myth Buster An open and closed case.... There is a strong urban myth that mussels that don’t open are not okay to eat. It is a completely false belief, originating in the 1970’s and being repeated in cookery books and by word-of-mouth ever since. It is believed to have stemmed from a cook who was referring to certain European mussel beds with serious pollution issues at the time (1973). Fisheries biologist Nick Ruello spent 32 months conducting experiments to see where the truth really lay ... and discovered that perhaps 370 tonnes of good mussels in Australia (worth at least $3 million per annum) were being discarded because of an old wives tale! Nick Ruello’s research found that the percentage of mussels in batches of 50 to 100 that did not open after typical cooking times ranged from zero to 53% - averaging at about 11%. Some mussels would not open even after excessive cooking times, yet proved perfectly okay to eat. “Rather than being discarded, closed mussels should be opened with a knife to check their condition and cooked a little more if deemed necessary. These could be then be regarded as safer to eat, given their greater exposure to heat,” He said. Renowned Melbourne seafood chef Michael Bacash knows from experience that eating closed mussels is fine and says consumers should have the same confidence.  “The bottom line is that if the mussel is fresh, you cook it and it doesn’t open, but it smells good, its more than fine to eat." Phil Lamb, Managing Director of Spring Bay Seafoods, welcomed this research and added, “What I say to my customers is that some mussels just hang on harder than others, it varies depending on the season.” Prior to cooking mussels should be closed or if they are gapping their shells will start to close when gently tapped. Read full article - Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) Find a supplier for Spring Bay Mussels