2 July 2009

A SHETLAND based mussel farming company has signed a six figure contract with Belgium supermarket chain Delhaize to supply thousands of kilos of Scottish mussels every week.

Management at Isle of Shuna said yesterday (Wednesday) that the Belgium supermarket came to them because they could guarantee consistency of supply throughout the year.

Mussels are the national dish in Belgium and subsequently the country is the world’s largest consumer.

Managing director Donny Gillies, said: "This is excellent news for the Scottish seafood industry. It emphasises what we have always known, that fresh Scottish shellfish is the best in the world.

"Supplying Belgium with mussels may seem a bit like selling snow to the Eskimos, but our rope grown mussels are more environmentally friendly and sustainable than the dredged mussels commonly grown in Europe.

“The taste is also superior as all of our mussels are grown in the crystal clear waters of Shetland and the west coast of Scotland."

The mussels will be packaged at Isle of Shuna's modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) plant, in Walls, which delivers fresh mussels in peak condition sealed in conditions that match the seashore where they were harvested.

Mr Gillies said: "Because our fresh mussels in MAP packaging are not exposed to the air, as happens when they are bought in nets, they remain fresh, moist and plump to a degree previously impossible to attain."

The Delhaize deal follows a recent European funding win of nearly half a million pounds to Isle of Shuna, aimed at propelling the Scottish mussel farming industry to the forefront of the £60m European market.

The company is one of the largest Scottish producers of rope-grown mussels. A few years back Isle of Shuna expanded when they bought Shetland based Demlane mussel from industry pioneer Jim Tait.

The shellfish producers now have their sights set on other European countries including France, Holland and Germany.