Label Rouge bouchot mussels are a hit
“A real boom in 2019!” Mer Conseils, which supports mussel farmers regarding Label Rouge, has good reasons to rejoice.
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365 t |
"It’s a shame to have a sign of quality and not benefit from it”, underlines Hervé Le Créour, consultant at Mer Conseils. This is what was happening with the Label Rouge bouchot mussel, which has been recognized since the end of 2016, until the Breizh Filière Mer (BFM) group, accompanied by the project office, relaunched the process in 2019. The sector was then really involved in the process. Successfully: “The Label Rouge has allowed an added value of 40 to 60 cents per kilo,” says Isabelle Letellier, a partner at Mer Conseils. “This is very satisfying, both in terms of price and quantity.” Thus, 365 tons of mussels bred on poles were sold under Label Rouge in 2019, compared to 46 tons in 2017, as in 2018. There are now 18 producers in the project, and three shipping groups, which account for 84% of sales. Mytilimer alone shipped 119 tons. The areas most involved are Pénestin, followed by Côtes-d’Armor and the bay of Mont Saint-Michel, and Chausey, the area that ensured the end of the season, which ended in mid-January. Alongside 14 Breton mussel farmers, the certification also concerns two Normans, a farmer from Charente and one from the Côte d’Opale (Oye-Plage). The farming areas have experienced a disparate production season, with a defect in the filling in the bay of Mont Saint-Michel in the summer and a long episode of Dinophysis contamination in the Penestin area. But they made up for lost time with a production of fleshy mussels. For its part, the bay of Saint-Brieuc had a very good season. Mer Conseils also points out the “very convincing” results at the hedonic test: the comparison by consumers between a Label Rouge mussel tested and the Dutch fished for mussel reveals 95% positive opinion in favour of the certification, against 67% for the standard. With a significantly higher rate of well-filled shells. “The valorization is well-deserved, mussel farmers know how to make a good selection of the products sold with a label rouge,“ the consultants say. Their contribution to the group has paid off, “they are even more motivated for the next season and should be joined by others”. Solène LE ROUX Traduction : Catherine ROUSSEY |
