Is it true when you cook mussels and the shells dont open that they are off .Getting conflicting stories.?

Need to know as I am cooking them at a barbecue on the weekend.

Is it true when you cook mussels and the shells dont open that they are off .Getting conflicting stories.?
Yeah sure
Reply:YES. They are dead and you could die from eating their rotted flesh.
Reply:If the shells don't open during cooking toss the little guys out. They weren't any good to start with! This goes for any bivalve you cook.
Reply:don't eat the ones that don't open
Reply:If they dont open they are not good that means they are dead the best way to keep them alive prior to cooking is keep to keep them in a open container so they can breathe.
Reply:Don't eat mussels that don't open - it's not worth the risk!
Reply:yup, out collecting info
Reply:Enough people believe that so that I don't serve the unopened ones to others: I eat them myself.



I am not dead yet. And I went to Uni in Belgium, so I ate a lot of mussels.
Reply:The rules are that before cooking discard any that are open and do not shut when tapped, and after cooking discard any that have not opened!
Reply:Well as the daughter of a fisherman I wouldn't risk eating the ones that don't open
Reply:It's true. I've seen this in a number of shellfish recipes. Shellfish should be live when you cook it. If the shells don't open when they're cooked, the shellfish wasn't live and can cause food poisoning.
Reply:what do you mean off?



I know when you cook them and they don't open they were usually dead to begin with. When you cook mussels they open their shells to try and release some of the heat before they die.
Reply:You should boil them while they're alive, and then they open as they're cooking. If they don't open, DON"T eat them. You could get seriously ill. That means the muscle has already died, and will release toxins.
Reply:yes it's true it means that the mussle is dead and should not be used,