River Cottage Autumn Eating shellfish safely

Date Published:

30/10/2008

Forager John Wright from River Cottage gives us his top tips for eating wild shellfish safely

Unless you’re very sure that your shellfish are from 'A grade' clean water, certified by your local Environmental Health Authority, you must always cook them thoroughly. As well as that, try to avoid collecting your shellfish from narrow estuaries, harbours or marinas. Use the very sensible old adage of avoiding months that lack an 'r' - throughout the summer months of May to August, algal blooms will tend to be at their peak and this can heighten chances of algal poisoning so try to avoid these.

Once you have your haul I suggest that you give the shellfish time to clean themselves for a few hours in well aerated salted water (35g salt per litre of fresh water). I tend to do this to remove as much of their intestinal contents as possible but it’s important to remember this is no substitute for professional depuration which involves the use of UV treated water and is generally used on commercial shellfish production - another important reason to stick to animals from designated clean water. For the purging process I use big, shallow trays so that oxygen can be easily absorbed and I lay the shellfish no more than one deep. I splash the water about a lot for the same reason and change it at least once. 10 hours is the maximum time that should be allowed for the process and they should be cooked immediately after.

Check for signs of life before you cook them - tap your oysters on the side of the pot - they should snap shut if open. After cooking, only consume those that have opened.

Who to ask about water cleanliness

Of the first importance is local knowledge. There are several people worth consulting such as local fishermen and bait diggers. The ultimate source of wisdom in this matter, however, is your local Port Health Authority. This may have been subsumed into the local Environmental Health Authority or the town or county council, in which case you may need to dig deep to get to the right person. Wherever shellfish are caught or farmed commercially there is a strict testing regime to ensure public safety. This means that the water quality in an area may be known with some precision. Not all areas are good for shellfish and these waters will not have been tested.

It is also worth checking The Food Standards Agency for information on the safe sourcing of shellfish from British waters.


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