Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Thermal, Textural and Quality Properties of Grilled African Snail (Acharchatina Marginata)

Grilling is one of the processing methods of raw meat into edible meat product. These have tendencies to impact quality of the meat product. This study evaluated the impact of grilling on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, thermal, textural, proximate, mineral and colour properties of African giant snails. The grilling of fasted and processed snail meat was carried out using electrical grilling machine (MODEL KWS-170) at different time interval of 0 min (BF6), 14 min (FHA), 28 min (LTB), 42 min (ZAK) and 56 min (YAB), respectively. This study revealed that the textural characteristics of the grilled snail meat with increase in grilling time. The mineral composition (calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, zinc and magnesium) of the grilled snails fell within the range of 182.50 - 242.50 mg/100g, 6.90 - 8.40 mg/100g, 22.50 - 32.50 mg/100g, 205.00 – 292.00 mg/100g, 0.13 - 0.32 mg/100g and 62.50, respectively. The grilled African snail at varying grilling time indicated that identified Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) : Fluoranthene, Anthracene, Acenaphthene, pyrene Naphthalene, Acenaphthylene, , Fluorene, Phelanthrene, Benzo (a) anthracene, chrysene, Benzo (b) fluoranthene, the Benzo (k) fluoranthene and the Benzo (a) were below the recommended critical limits.