The temporary closure of a shellfish bed in Pembrokeshire has been lifted. Pembrokeshire County Council issued the Notice of Temporary Closure on a shellfish production area, covering Angle Bay to the west of a North/South line through Sawdern point, last month. The bed was closed after a sample of cockles taken from a designated monitoring point off Angle village on May 19 revealed an E.coli level more than 18,000 E.coli/100g of flesh, giving rise to an 'Action State' under the South West Wales Local Action Plan. The closure decision was taken after discussions with CEFAS (the Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) in Weymouth, and the Food Standards Agency Wales, and on the basis of the advice received. Re-sampling of the area since the closure has revealed that the elevated sampling levels are now normal and the bed has reopened for production. In accordance with EU food hygiene legislation, Pembrokeshire County Council is under a duty to monitor the microbiological standards of certain types of shellfish from areas designated for the production of shellfish for human consumption.
