Snail
meat is now becoming a highly valued delicacy in recent times. It is also known
and referred to as “Congo meat” in Nigeria. Snails constitute an important source
of animal protein for many coastal communities in Nigeria. Snail meat
consumption as we all know has become a lifestyle for some people especially
those eating it on medical grounds. Snails are very useful in pharmaceuticals,
for the production of certain drugs, because of their therapeutic properties.
It has low fat and cholesterol and is the meat recommended for special medical
patients. The emergence of snail meat joints in almost every neighborhood where
snail meat delicacies are prepared is a clear indication that snail meat consumption
is gaining a wide acceptance.
PROCESSING
PROCEDURES:
Snail
meat for export must be processed with great care so as to increase its
marketability. Below are the procedures that must be followed for processing
snail meat for export.
1.
The
snail should be starved for about 24 hours in other to empty their stomach
2.
Prepare
enough quantity of water by boiling at greater than 70 degrees centigrade and
transfer into a bucket or drum
3.
Add
enough lumps of alum (potassium or ammonium aluminum sulphate)
4.
Transfer
the snails into hot water and cover up immediately
5.
After
2 to 3 minutes, open the lid and pour off the resulting dirty from the hot
water
6.
Cool
under running tap
7.
With
ease, shake off each snail from its shell into clean, cool water
8.
Remove
offal
9.
Rinse
in two changes of clean cool water
10.
At
this time, it is ready for immediate consumption or packaging for export.
PACKAGING FOR
EXPORT
Snail
Meat for export can be packaged in several ways, these include the following
CELLOPHANE: this is a
transparent paper-like product that is impervious to moisture and used to wrap
candy or products for export. The processed snail meat may be sealed in
cellophane and refrigerated for local or foreign market.
SUN DRYING/OVEN
DRYING:
this is another preservation method for export, after sun drying or oven
drying; it should be kept in a neat, aerated enclosure till when needed. Live
snails could also be packaged in a wooden box, basket or cellophane with
maximum ventilation for export too.
MARKETING
Because
of the high demand of snail meat, there are various channels in which one can
market it. They include the following.
1.
Hotels
2.
Restaurants
3.
Stores, supermarket & markets
4.
Corporate parties such as wedding, naming/ birthday celebration
5.
Institutions
6.
Neighborhoods
If
you already have a snail farm at your backyard, or you are planning on establishing
one soon, you might want to read this article on snail feeds and feeding.
I
hope this article was helpful. In my next post I will be showing how to start a
profitable snail farming enterprise with very little capital so if you don't
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