Explanation

Chefs use cornmeal to clean the sand out of mussels. The chef thinks it pointless to do so, because the mussels available at seafood markets contain no sand. He is assuming, of course, that the mussels he is using did come from a seafood market. If they did not, his mussels might contain sand and therefore require cleaning.

Because this is an assumption question, the answer you select must contain a statement upon which the argument depends, i.e. a statement that is necessary for the conclusion to be true.

Answer choice (A): Whether they clean out farm-raised mussels before they reach seafood markets has no bearing on whether the chef should clean the mussels he is using. We know from the stimulus that mussels purchased at seafood markets do not require cleaning.

Answer choice (B): This answer choice may seem attractive, because it lends further credibility to the claim that the chef need not bother cleaning his mussels. However, just because a statement supports the author’s conclusion does not mean it is necessary for the conclusion to be true. Apply the Assumption Negation Technique: what if mussels do contain contaminants other than sand? The chef conclusion would still be valid, because—as far as we know—cornmeal only works against sand. The chef can still skip this step, therefore, although he might need to take other precautionary measures to ensure that his mussels are free of contaminants.

Answer choice (C): Whether cornmeal affects the taste of mussels has no bearing on whether or not the chef should use it to clean them out. Do not introduce new information into the argument when answering Assumption questions!

Answer choice (D): As with answer choice (C), this answer choice presents an extraneous and irrelevant consideration. Even if the recipe were written after farm raised mussels became available, the chef’s conclusion would still be valid.

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. Try the Assumption Negation Technique: if the mussels the chef is using for the recipe did not come from a seafood market, it is possible that they do contain sand. Therefore, the chef should probably not skip the step of cleaning them out.

Answer: E