Raw materials from snails for food preparation

Abstract

Snails belong to the class of Gastropoda and Phylum Mollusca. Snails of marine, aquatic, and terrestrial origin have been consumed by humans since prehistoric times and remain a delicacy in several parts of the world. The increasing demand of snails has threatened the wild populations and along with safety concerns, regarding radioactive and chemical residues, have led to the growth of snail farming. Heliciculture is considered a farming activity with low environmental footprint as compared to other conventional livestock. Despite that heliciculture is rising as a popular alternative form of culture, apart from the literature data on the nutritional composition of snail meat, information regarding snail protein extraction and characterization is very scarce. This review summarizes the research data concerning the nutritional composition of various species of snails and the factors that affect it. Also, the available data regarding the snail protein, mainly the gelatin fraction, extraction and characterization and the uses of other snail materials in the food industry are presented. Snails are rich in protein and minerals and are low in lipid content. The main objective of the review is to abet food scientists to investigate snails as food, so their value to be enlightened in the future.

Keywords

• Edible snails
• Snail meat
• Escargots
• Proteins
• Gelatin
• Lipids