Pages: (37-56 )
Abstract
The appealing nutritional profile and high productivity of many snail species has elicited scholarly and popular literature to have increasingly promoted the use of escargots as a human protein source in addressing global food security challenges. However, snail consumption was, and still is taboo in some cultures in Nigeria. In order to examine the prospect of using the snail meat as a base for developing new food/feed products, a review of escargot nutritional information and the impact of culinary taboos on snail consumption in Nigeria was long overdue and necessary. The consumption of escargots around the world, including Nigeria's abundant edible snails is therefore presented in this review. Escargot was compared to beef, pork, mutton, chicken, and turkey in terms of its gastronomic characteristics where escargot showed highest protein content of 20.7 %. The meat is a source of vital minerals and vitamins that are necessary for tissue development and maintenance. This paper further examined briefly the background to taboos (where possible the reasons) against snail consumption in some parts of Nigeria. Possible solutions were also suggested to promote edible snails a viable functional food resource in Nigeria.
Keywords: Mollusc, snail, shellfish, escargots, nutrient, food taboos,