During the rainy season, snails are found in almost every rural area in Nigeria, you will find young boys and girls picking it up with excitement as that would serve as a source of protein for their meal for the day, in big restaurants, prepared snails are sold at a very expensive rate that only the rich are usually able to afford. It was a big surprise for me this morning when my friend shared a clip of how snail is being regarded as poisonous in Singapore, my reaction was that, snail, that we use to eat anyhow in Nigeria, and we are not dying (this is really serious), but my curious mind really wanted to know why a greatly sought-after and highly consumed product in one country would turn out to be a poison in another country.
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It would be a good idea to know the origin and scientific classification of ''Snail''.
Snails belong to the phylum Mollusca, they are one of the world's oldest animal species as their existence dates back to about 500 million years ago, the old category of snails, dwelled in the sea and fresh water bodies respectively, but the category of snails we have now, basically live on land, and they can even be found living freely amongst humans.
The spiral shaped shell that the snail carries, is a great distinguishing factor, the shell is a calcium carbonate-based rigid structure that serves as a form of protection to their fragile body as well as their internal organs. Snails have lungs as well, in order for the lungs to function appropriately, it takes in air from the atmosphere for daily survival, this air flows into the lungs to obtain oxygen, the air obtained by land snail is what distinguishes it from water snails, because only few water snails actually breathe air.
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There are certain traits that distinguishes snails from other land and sea animals, let us explore some of those characteristics;
Snails are extremely slow, land snails are even worse at being sluggish, their forward speed always varies between 0.5-0.7 every second.
You would know when a snail has passed through a place as they will always leave slime trail behind when they move, these slime trail is a lubricant that snails generate in order to allow them to move on any ground without causing any physical damage to their bodies (they surely know how to take care of themselves).
Snails are usually most active during the night, they can also be found at the early hours of the morning.
Snails mate traditionally with their partner.1
Snails can see, but they cannot hear (they are deaf).
Salt can kill snails.
Some snails can be very gluttonous in nature.
The fact that they are small, does not mean they are weak. 2
There are several types of snails and these different snail types, come in different shapes and forms, the food they consume may also differ slightly.
African Giant Land Snail, scientifically called Achatina Fulica, the African snail is one of the biggest snail species in the world, it is 2.75 inches in height and 7.87 in length. Even if this snail is from Africa, it can now be found in different countries. The giant African land snail is brown, it has a very thick shell which has been found to be the highest concentration of heavy metals amongst other snail specie that exist. This snail can however be dangerous, because it consumes a great amount of plants, fruits, greens and even paper products in its diet. It also consumes sand, skeleton, small stones, eggshells, in rare cases they can also consume other snails and even snail eggs.
The White-Lipped Snail, scientifically known as Cepaea hortensis, this snail can be found in several hues, yellow is however the most common one amongst them, it has a white ring surrounding the aperture region of its shell. They find it convenient to live in garden, forests, sandbars.
Mediterranean Green Snail, scientifically known as Cantareus apertus, this snail is also called the green garden snail, it has the possibility of growing up to 4.72 in inches, this snail type is commonly found in Europe and Africa, especially in rain forests. In the United States, however, the snail is considered invasive because of its ability to harm agricultural products, harm the environment and even human health since green vegetables, fruits, grasses and other helpful plants are the source of its own nutrition.
Garden Snail, scientifically known as Cornu aspersum, this snail is one of the most commonly found snail type, it originally evolved from the Mediterranean area, but at the moment, it can be found in other areas, it consumes vegetables, flowers, wood, roses, grains and even bushes.
Milk Snail, scientifically known as Otala lactea
Apple snails, scientifically known as Ampullariidae
The snail that has a golden apple shell, scientifically called Pomacea canaliculata
Mystery Snails, scientifically known as Pomacea bridgesii
The Colombian Ramshorn Apple Snail, scientifically known as Marisa cornuarietis
Assassin Snails, scientifically known as Clea Helena
Nerite Snails, scientifically known as Neritina natalensis
The periwinkle snail, scientifically known as Littorina littorea.
The common Whelk, scientifically called, Buccinum undatum.
I will not be able to describe all the snail types, so we do not have an extremely lengthy post, but you can read more about the snail types Here
From the classification above, we would notice the different food consumption patterns of these snails. Some snails are herbivorous, carnivorous and even omnivorous in nature.
Herbivorous snails basically consume living plants, including leaves, stems, barks, fruits, crops and even plants. A great number of herbivorous snails consume fungus and mushrooms, occasionally, they add algae. Some other specie of snails, that are herbivorous in nature, usually prefer to consume a decaying plant, dead animals and generally organic debris.
Carnivorous snails, on the other hand, consume very little creatures like earthworm and other terrestrial animals, an example of carnivorous snail is Powelliphanta snail specie, commonly found in New Zealand.
Omnivore snails usually consume both animals and plants, they usually prefer to consume other terrestrial creatures, making them predators.
Some countries eat snail, a very good example of a country that eat snail is Nigeria, we consume it with pride. Snail cuisine in big restaurants are quite expensive like I mentioned earlier, but there are other countries that consume snail as well. Europeans consume snail, they find it as a main course and sometimes appetizer, just like what we have in Nigeria, they also serve snail cuisine in elite restaurants as well.
Snail is also consumed in France, it is called Escargot. In France, snail is served with their shell after they must have been prepared with garlic and parsley butter, it is believed that they do this, in order to prevent the snail from sliming down, in Nigeria we do not serve snail with their shell.
Nutritional reasons why some of us consume Snail.
An average snail is made up of;80% of water, 15% of protein and 2.4% of fat (healthy fat).
Snails have a high level of protein and a low level of carbohydrate.
Snails have a great number of minerals and vitamins. Vitamins are greatly packed with Vitamins E, A,K and Vitamin B12.
Snails serve as a good source of iron to the body.
Snails as well serve as a good source of Magnesium and Selenium.
Well-prepared snail are also really delicious and juicy, just wait until I make peppered snail for you, you will absolutely love it.
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If snails actually have these huge nutritional values, why then would some people/countries try to avoid them or term them as being poisonous?
Not all land snails are edible and fit for consumption, some of these snails contain poisonous substance and not everyone can identify the type of snail that is edible for consumption.
If snails are not properly cooked or properly cleaned, the parasites could affect the human body and result in a chronic health condition.
Wild snails can also find their way into the garden, and they could be mistaken for a garden snail, when wild snails are consumed by humans, they could lead to a disease known as meningitis. 4
Fresh water snails are carriers of a parasitic disease known as schistosomiasis, this disease infects close to 250 million people, mostly in areas like; Africa, Asia, South America. 5
Conclusion.
I must confess that after the extensive study I did on this topic, I am now really scared of eating snails. A lot of people die in Africa without the identification of the real cause of their death being discovered and this is usually as a result of poverty, not all families can afford hospital bills, so we have a number of cases of people who die in their homes while taking traditional medicine.
Surprisingly, some death may be caused by the consumption of these local snails, we have so many poor people who simply pick up snails at the back of their homes and in farms, prepare them and fall sick, I really haven't heard of any average Nigerian speak about the possibility of snail poisoning before.
After making this discovery, I had to inform my family and friends about the danger of snail consumption, except of course they are expert enough to identify one snail from another, and avoid consumption of the poisonous ones. So, before you consume snail, make sure it is one that is fit for consumption, wash properly and prepare appropriately as well.
For further studies.
https://www.jebfoods.com/the-history-of-snail-facts-and-information/
https://outforia.com/types-of-snails/
https://snailbreeding.net/nutritional_value_of_snail/
https://www.snail-world.com/snails-as-food/
https://theworld.org/stories/2016-08-13/why-snails-are-one-worlds-deadliest-creatures
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I don't eat snails ... even the ones in fancy French restaurants.
But I believe that snails, and other bugs, could be an excellent food source. I would want to know the species and what the snail ate before consuming the thing.
Since snails are already part of the Nigerian diet, I think the best course of action would be for people in the region to find ways to produce healthy, parasite free snails.
The world needs protein. There might even be an opportunity for an entrepreneur to create something like a snail hotdog or other branded good that people could trust.
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Hi @irivers, thanks for taking time to read and comment. Yes, the best thing would be to make appropriate research about a snail specie before consumption and I think the snails in fancy restaurants are selected appropriately but the issue is, those in local regions do not care about making research before consumption.
Actually ✨
Wow, snails are not common, but we can see small species of them from time to time. They're a very old kind of animal.
Wow, they are very common here, I should try to take pictures of them so I can share here.
Do it, please!
Alright then, I'll send the pictures to you on discord one of these days.
No worries, posting them here in the chain is better.
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Yes, there are kind of regular meals in many restaurants around here. However, I stay far (even if my wive loves them). I prefer to focus on the bigger beasts ;)
Lol, I understand, the bigger beasts contains more flesh.
This is definitely what I meant ;)
I never knew snails are deaf oh😂 Well, some of these things work with the mind and cultural beliefs of the people. In some parts of Nigeria, they don't eat snails. Some people believe that eating a snail will make you slow in life. Slime from snails is also used for skin care in some parts of the world. So I think whatever you believe works for you.