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Ban on oyster sales: before New Year’s Eve, customers are reluctant
Ban on oyster sales: before New Year’s Eve, customers are reluctant – (France 2)
After the ban on oysters from Normandy and the Arcachon basin, sellers are faced with caution from customers, worried about being poisoned. The end-of-year holiday season is, however, a crucial period for oyster farmers.
At a market, Saturday December 30 in the morning, Normandy oysters are not among the New Year’s Eve shopping list. Behind his stall, Simon tries as best he can to reassure customers thati fear poisoning. “They ask us why we would have the right (to sell it) and not the others, where does it come from?“, testifies this oyster farmer. In Paris, a fishmonger fears the onset of psychosis. “The customer thinks that the oysters are all the same and all come from the same place. As a result, we have a big drop, we have cancellations of oyster orders, and it’s a big loss of turnover for us.“, explains Arnaud Bellugeon.
Sales continue in Brittany
To avoid any inconvenience, some favor oysters from other origins. In Brittany, sellers encounter no problems. “If we are here, it is because we have no ban, it is because there are controls, so there is no problem“, smiles Nathalie Bellot, oyster seller “Les clos du large”. In the areas affected by the bans, oysters are prohibited for sale for 28 days, while almost half of the oysters produced each year in France are consumed between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
