Mussels in Turkey : Information and Tips

In Turkey, mussels are cooked by putting rice in it, namely 'Stuffed Mussel'. Turkish of mussel is 'Midye', while stuffed mussel is 'Midye Dolma'. Hygiene rules are not strictly obeyed during the production stages of the mussels sold on the street in Turkey. The sales environment can give you an idea about this.

You cannot know how many days ago the product was cooked. When you ask, all the sellers say that they were made that day, but you can't understand the difference between fresh and deteriorated mussels. In addition, the production source is very important even if the hygiene conditions are ensured during the production. Mussels caught in clean waters do not contain toxic and harmful substances. But the opposite is valid for mussels caught in polluted waters; they can contain toxic and harmful substances. Especially if there is sewage connection in the area mussels are hunted, the risk is quite high. Because heavy metals in the water cannot be sufficiently filtered by mussels, these heavy metals are collected in the fleshy part of the mussel. This causes exposure to heavy metals when eat. Therefore, mussels eat from street vendors in Turkey is not safe at all.

Recently, restaurants selling mussels have been opened in Turkey. Some fish restaurants also serve mussels. Eating mussels from these restaurants is safer because they are under government control (periodic inspections are made by local authorities) and they usually use mussels grown in controlled pools.