Abstract

The meat of the giant African snail (Achatina achatina) was preserved utilising solar drying, tray drying, and traditional hot air/smoking method. The study compared the effectiveness of the three drying methods on the basis of the nutritional, microbiological and sensory attributes of the dried snail samples. In addition, the cost and operational requirements of the three dryers were evaluated. Results obtained showed that, protein (89.92±0.49%), fat (4.76±0.13%), ash (3.84±0.30%), and energy (1729.92±8.09 kJ/100 g) were highest in the dried sample from the traditional hot air/smoke dryer, but was lowest in total carbohydrate (1.48±0.06%), all on dry matter basis. In addition, the sample dried using the traditional hot air/smoke dryer, comparatively had least microbial numbers after drying and throughout the storage period of 30 weeks with good sensory attributes making it the most preferred method for drying snail meat.

Key words: Giant African snail, hot air/smoke drying, tray drying, solar drying.