Influence of the technology of processing of meat of snails in anabiosis on the content of toxic elements

Abstract

An important problem today is the pollution of the territory of Ukraine with heavy metals: lead, cadmium, copper, zinc and others. Relevance of the topic is that nowadays the issues of safety and quality control are not fully resolved in the country, as well as the veterinary and sanitary assessment of the meat of snails of the genus Helix, which are used for food purposes; in particular, there is no data on the content of toxic elements in a meat of different species of snails for different processing modes. The aim of the study was to investigate the meat of snails of the genus Helix for different processing to find heavy metals in it. The meat of snails of genus Helix has been used for the study, sub-species: Helix pomatia, Helix aspersa maxima and Helix aspersa muller. 30 samples of snails of each species grown in snails farm in the Kyiv region have been selected for the study. Meat of snails has been studied after different technological processing: live, chilled, and cooked and frozen (n = 30). The research has been conducted in the winter, when the snails have been in anabiosis. Results of the study show that in accordance with the requirements of DSTU 7821:2016 “Live edible gastropod molluscs. Specifications”, the content of toxic elements in the meat of live snails corresponds to the maximum allowable level. One of the key indicators of safety of meat, in accordance with the requirements of DSTU 7821:2016, is the content of toxic elements in it: lead, cadmium, copper, zinc. It has been found that the meat of snails, in addition to the above mentioned heavy metals, contains also arsenic and iron, which relate to toxic elements as well. Therefore, when developing a complex system of veterinary and sanitary assessment of quality and safety of snails’ meat, we propose to control it on the content of such toxic elements as arsenic and iron. In addition, we recommend to improve the “The Required Minimum List…” (2004) with the studies of the meat of snails of the genus Helix for different technological processing on the content of toxic elements: lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, arsenic and iron.