Heliciculture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising edible land snails, primarily for human consumption or cosmetic use.[1] The meat and snail eggs a.k.a. white caviar can be consumed as escargot and as a type of caviar, respectively.[2]
Perhaps the best-known edible land snail species in the Western world is Helix pomatia, commonly known as the Roman snail or the Burgundy snail. [3]This species, however, is not fit for profitable snail farming, and is normally harvested from nature.
Commercial snail farming in the Western world typically utilizes snails in the family Helicidae, particularly Cornu aspersum (morphotypically divided into C. a. aspersa and C. a. maxima), formerly known as Helix aspersa. In tropical climates, snail farming is typically done with the African snail. Snail meat from the African snail is highly valued and widely consumed. The term 'heliciculture' is used for raising snails for any commercial purpose, but generally refers to farming snails for escargot and cosmetic applications. It can also refer to cultivation of sea snails, such as whelks.
- ^ Gheoca, Voichita (2013-12-01). "Can Heliciculture Act as a Tool for Edible Land Snails' Natural Populations' Management in Romania?" (PDF). Management of Sustainable Development. 5 (2): 21–25. doi:10.2478/msd-2013-0011. ISSN 2247-0220. S2CID 81055812.
- ^ Pissia, Maria Α.; Matsakidou, Anthia; Kiosseoglou, Vassilios (2021). "Raw materials from snails for food preparation". Future Foods. 3: 100034. doi:10.1016/j.fufo.2021.100034. S2CID 234819631.
- ^ Munywoki, Gilbert Ndutu (2022). "Snail farming (Heliciculture): Benefits, economic viability, challenges and prospects". International Journal of Research in Agronomy. 5 (2): 09–11. doi:10.33545/2618060X.2022.v5.i2a.102. ISSN 2618-0618.