Shellfish depuration advice
Purification (also known as 'depuration') entails placing live shellfish in tanks of seawater, typically for a minimum period in England and Wales of 42 hours, to purge any microbiological contamination they may have bio-accumulated while in their growing waters. Only shellfish harvested from class B harvesting areas (and where deemed necessary, class A areas) are permitted to be purified.
In England and Wales the approval for shellfish purification premises to operate must be given by the relevant local authority (LA). Operators of these premises who wish to obtain approval for a new system, or to modify an existing system, should therefore liaise with their LA.
Cefas has extensive experience in the running and inspection of purification systems, including research into optimising the purification process. We can provide advce in this area of work in our role as FAO Reference Centre for Bivalve Mollusc Sanitation.
Depurating mussels
Related publications
- Use of UV in depuration
- Use of Ozone in depuration
- Water quality advice
- Recommended record keeping sheet for purification plant operators
Specific advice on the technical design of purification systems should be sought from Seafish or a suitable consultancy.
