France introduces new regulations on ice in seafood exports

Aqua-mar fisheries manager Nathalie Porritt has warned that new French import rules, including strict requirements on how ice is made, are making it increasingly difficult to export shellfish from Jersey.

Under the new rules, Jersey tap water can no longer be used to produce ice without additional testing, and some summer shipments of scallops had to be destroyed for failing to meet temperature standards.

“To maintain the required cold temperature, we now have to line scallop trays with sealed ice packs and layer the produce carefully,” Ms Porritt said. “The checks are very stringent in St Malo, and any failure means the loads are destroyed at our expense.”

The changes have reduced exports, which were previously sent four times a week, to just once a week during the winter. Jersey authorities confirmed that shellfish merchants must now use ice made from approved water sources to meet French regulations.