Mussel man up for award
His company, Shetland Mussels, has been supplying M&S with value-added mussels since last year and since that time Michael has developed a system to help ensure that any mussels he sells are safe to eat – a system that has since been adopted across Scotland’s mussel industry.
The scheme, he explains to Fish Farming Expert, “is not rocket science, but is a checklist that allows us to interpret data systematically, and know when and what to test for,” helping to prevent any potentially toxic mussels from getting into the food chain.
It was developed in the wake of the unusually severe outbreak of biotoxins in the summer of 2013, which closed shellfish harvesting in Shetland for 13 weeks – a huge blow to Scotland’s mussel industry, as well as those retailers and restaurants whose customers have come to expect mussels to be a constant on their shelves and menus.
“We harvested in good faith, but we still got caught out,” he explains, “which showed we need to have new systems in place to help us get on the front foot”.
“The main driver was to keep it simple and we gave it to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and didn’t hold it back – we wanted it to work and we wanted it to help the whole industry.
“FSS [which has since replaced the FSA in Scotland] took up the system and trialled it last year and the results of the trial – which were released last month – confirm that the system is working.
“It helps us to continue our operations, should stop us being caught out again [by biotoxin outbreaks] and it helps M&S provide mussels all year round,” he concludes.
Michael is one of three Scottish farmers to be nominated for the award, the winner of which will be announced at the Royal Highland Show, in Edinburgh, on 18th June.
