Mussel up for health

THE VACUUM CLEANERS OF THE SEA AREN’T JUST GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, THEY PROVIDE SOME OF THE HEALTHIEST EATING AROUND

It’s the underrated seafood — mussels, often loved on restaurant menus (a steaming, brothy bowl of mussels with crusty bread never goes astray), but not always considered for the home table. Until now. The affordable, environmentally-friendly and easy-to-cook shellfish has had an “enormous increase in demand”, according to Andrew Puglisi, fifth-generation mussel farmer and executive director of Australia’s biggest mussel exporter, Eyre Peninsula Seafoods.

“People are catching on to how affordable, healthy and great for the planet they are,” he says.

“Mussels feed off the extra nutrients in our water systems, like those resulting from tuna and kingfish farming, for example. Mussels are like the mate that stays over and gets up in the morning before you wake up to help clean your house. The magic vacuum cleaners of the sea!”

Mussels are a carbon sink — meaning they grab carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – and require virtually no food, pesticides or land clearing.

Adrian Meder of the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) says “farmed mussels are among the most sustainable seafood choices available to Australians”.

“Because blue mussels are farmed on ropes suspended in the sea, they have a negligible impact on their habitat or other species,” he says.

Health-wise, mussels are rich in iron, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B2, B12, phosphorus, iron, selenium and iodine.

Puglisi recommends the ‘heat and eat’ Boston Bay cooked mussel packs available from supermarkets for an easy and timeefficient meal. Or, try one of these recipes.