Development of methods for assessing the quality of snail meat

Abstract

The meat of edible snails is considered a delicacy and is part of Ukraine's food exports, but there are no regulations or legislation on its quality. The purpose of this work was to develop methods for determining the degree of freshness of snail meat by the content of ammonia and ammonium salts with Nessler's reagent, peroxidase in meat with copper sulfate solution, and processing a smear-print from meat with a fluorescent dye and to determine the quality of meat by the number of green pixels. During the research, first of all, it was determined the organoleptic characteristics of shellfish meat, which reflect their freshness. Next, research was performed to determine the enzymes and ammonia that are produced during meat storage. The following reagents were used: copper sulfate solution, Nessler's reagent, and fluorescent dye – acridine orange. The equipment used for these reactions was used, namely: a KFK-2-UHL 4.2 photometer and an SMT fluorescence microscope with a working current of 2.5 A. Thus, schemes for establishing reactions for determining the degree of freshness of snail meat were developed and tested: biochemical, photometric, and immunofluorescence methods. The stability of the indicators for determining the degree of freshness was established. It is analysed that the data presented relate only to the research on snail meat. Utility model patents have been granted for each method. The proposed methods for assessing the quality of snail meat are effective, technologically simple and fast, have high reliability of the results obtained and can be used in the work of research and experimental, production and regional laboratories of veterinary medicine