Do snails have parasites? Is there anything I need to pay attention to?

Snails are very popular among people, not only because they are rich in nutrients, but also because their meat is very delicious. But recently many people have been saying that snails contain parasites. This problem has made everyone very worried and they don’t know whether snails can still be eaten. In fact, there are parasites in snails, but there will be no big problem as long as they are handled properly. Let me teach you a few methods.

Field snails like to live in aquatic environments with bottom mud rich in humus, such as lakes with lush aquatic plants, ponds, fields or slow-flowing ditches. They often feed on microorganisms and humus in the soil, phytoplankton in the water, young aquatic plants, moss, etc. They also like to eat artificial feed, such as fruits and vegetables, vegetable leaves, rice bran, wheat bran, soybean meal (cakes) and various animal scraps. Field snails are cold-resistant but afraid of heat. The suitable temperature for their survival is 20℃ ~ 28℃. When the water temperature is lower than 10℃ or higher than 30℃, they will stop eating and burrow into the soil and grass to avoid the cold and heat. When the water temperature exceeds 40℃, the snails will be scalded to death.

The river snail is an ovoviviparous animal with a unique reproductive method. The embryonic development and the development of the young are completed in the mother's body. It takes about a year for the fertilized egg to grow into a baby snail in the mother's body. Field snails lay eggs in batches and begin to reproduce in March and April every year. While producing baby snails, the female and male parent snails mate and fertilize, while the mother snails also nurture the baby snails to be produced the following year inside her body. A female snail produces about 100 to 150 baby snails throughout the year.

From the perspective of epidemiology, the parasites in snails are generally schistosomiasis. Therefore, if they are not thoroughly sterilized, it is easy to cause schistosomiasis, which causes certain harm to the human body. However, usually the snails can be fried and cooked in about 20 minutes to kill the parasite eggs inside, so they can no longer be transmitted to humans. Therefore, as long as the snails are fully cooked, they are fine and you can eat them with confidence. Never eat food that is not cooked or clean, as it is not good for your health.

Boiling the snails in boiling water for 10 minutes can kill them, so you can rest assured. Generally, most pathogens can be killed at 80 degrees for 10 minutes. But if you are worried, you can boil them longer. Restaurants outside usually use condiments such as peppers to cover up the fishy smell of snails.