Moules de Bouchot protected by EC

Commission names Breton shellfish as first French product to receive Traditional Speciality title

TASTY seafood speciality Moules de Bouchot have become the first French product to be registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed spécialité traditionnelle garantie by the European Commission.

The mussels, grown through a centuries-old technique using vertical stakes in the intertidal zone on the seashore, are yellow-orange and particularly tender and juicy. They are also known for not containing any sand due to the way they are raised.

Moules de Bouchot are now a protected name and the move will halt foreign producers selling ordinary farmed mussels as the prized French speciality.

They are grown mainly on the north Breton coast and in 2011 41,000 tonnes were produced. That same year Moules de Bouchot from Mont-Saint-Michel Bay were given the label Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP) in 2011.

Moules de Bouchot