More on mussels, good and bad: more mysteries solved

As a person who does not eat mussels, nor any shellfish (I'm allergic to shellfish, which includes crustaceans, as well as molluscs) mussels have always been a mystery. But I've started asking questions and getting answers.

I was sitting in a restaurant when somebody complained that half their mussels would not open.

This was in London, England. The diner complained to the restaurant server. I thought the diner might get refunded for half the dish, but the manager apologised and refunded all the money for that dish. That was the right thing to do, to mollify the aggrieved customer and the onlookers. 

I asked, "Couldn't the staff have just cracked open the mussels?"

Apparently not. I was told, "You mustn't eat mussels which don't open."

Some time later I asked another mussel eater about this. I was told, "You don't eat mussels which won't open because if they haven't opened they haven't been washed properly."

I asked, "But if the mussels could poison you, or upset your stomach, surely the restaurant should not be serving mussels which cant be opened, at all, ever?"

The reply was, "You often get mussels you can't open. About one in twenty. But fifty per cent is far too high. Lack of quality control."

I suggest you research the subject from those who know more, and follow up by checking, politely, with your local restaurant manager or supermarket or food store before buying and serving mussels at home or at any event.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, speaker and author.