After harvesting and before marketing for consumption, it is usual to hold mussels (and most other shellfish) in purified water for 42 hours to clean them and remove any contamination.

Cornish Mussels have built a compact modular depuration system. This is based on standard 750 litre stillages that hold 250kg of mussels. Seawater is pumped from a reservoir through a powerful Ultra Violet light to kill any bacteria and then to the stillages filled with live mussels.. The water passes through the deep bed of mussels, carrying away mud and other impurities. Over 42 hours the mussels cleanse themselves of impurities, rendering them safe for human consumption.

The mussels are then drained and tipped from the stillages, washed and inspected and then packed in 5 and 10 kg bags ready for dispatch. To allow for weight loss in transit, we pack about 20 percent overweight.