M&J Seafood supports initiative to promote British mussels in schools

M&J Seafood is one of several organisations involved in a ‘Mussel Power’ initiative this week whereby 8,000 students in over 200 schools will get to taste British mussels.

The activity was devised by Food Teachers Centre as part of its ‘Fish in School Hero’ programme, which is supported by the Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust.

The students involved will cook and taste freshly cooked dishes such as Thai style mussel broth, tagliatelle mussels, seafood pie, mussel fritters, and bacon & mussel tart.

The mussels, donated by Offshore Shellfish, were landed at Brixham and transported to Fowey by Fowey Shellfish where they were depurated overnight and packed. At 4am they were ready to be delivered to M&J Seafood depots in Wigan and Smethwick by DFDS Logistics UK.

M&J Seafood then delivered the two tonnes of Grade ‘A’ rope-grown mussels to schools across the country.

“Delivering the mussels to 200 schools nationwide was a massive logistical challenge, not just in terms of the shipping, but also with regards to collating the details of the contacts at each of the schools and arranging convenient dates and times for deliveries,” said Matt Orr, commercial manager at M&J Seafood. “As always, we jumped at the chance to partner with an initiative that promotes the use of sustainably caught British fish and shellfish and to make young people aware of the fantastic fresh produce available in and around our shores.”

Simon Gray, senior associate at Food Teachers Centre, added: “Mussels are one of the most under-utilised shellfish in this country, so we want to get young people to try them in a safe, positive environment, as part of their food and nutrition lessons. This would not have been possible without the amazing industry support we have had from M&J Seafood, and the generosity of Offshore Shellfish and Fowey Shellfish, who have all worked together to ensure that students can try these amazing mussels without the schools incurring any costs.”

Tel: M&J Seafood (0344) 800 4545

Published Date: November 24, 2021
Category: Wholesale Industry News