Intensive development of food industry and international food trade, combined with the increasing migration of people, led to the appearance of new food products in the market in the second half of the 20th century. This tendency has been driven by the search for new sources of animal protein and by increasingly sophisticated culinary tastes of consumers. An example of such food are edible mollusks (Mollusca), including snails (Gastropoda). This study provides basic information on the natural occurrence and commercial farming of snails from the families Helicidae and Achantinidae, as well as on the technology used in the production of frozen meat of the Burgundy snail (Helix pomatia) and snails of the genus Cornu. The most important qualities of snail meat related to its energy value, digestibility, organoleptic characteristics, and biological value (with special emphasis on the content of exogenous amino acids and the fatty acid profile) are also described. A section devoted to the safety of snail meat discusses the current microbiological food safety criteria and process hygiene criteria. In addition, this section reviews literature data on the occurrence of the most important pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella sp., L. monocytogenes, coagulase-positive staphylococci, Bacillus sp., Clostridium sp., as well as molds and yeast), microbial indicators (E. coli), and other potentially pathogenic microorganisms in snail meat. Other safety issues discussed in the study are related to the fact that snails are bioindicators of heavy metal pollution in the environment as well as vectors of the parasitic flatworms Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica.
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