Depuration is the term applied to the purification of shellfish, under controlled conditions. The process generally involves holding the shellfish in tanks of flowing seawater for periods of forty-eight to seventy-two hours.

Prior to being processed and bagged for shipping shellfish are held at the Prince Edward Aqua Farms facility for some period of time in what is known as a "shellfish depuration facility". This process involves the mussels, clams and quahogs. It also represents a way of assuring consumers of a clean and safe product. Depuration is practiced globally: England, France, Spain, and Australia have successfully used it for years with a variety of species.

This is part of the quality control processes that are in place at our modern processing facility in New London. When the shellfish are received from the growers or harvesters of the product they go directly into these tanks. Water from high volume pumps is circulated through each individual tank to ensure any impurities the shellfish may have ingested prior to arriving at the plant is removed through this flushing process. This ensures that shellfish shipped from the Prince Edward Aqua Farms plant meet the highest standards for quality and freshness.