Large species of terrestrial mollusks are used for human consumption and are bred for this purpose. They have become a part of national cuisine in many countries. Histology is used in many fields of humane and veterinary medicine. Its main essence is that this method can diagnose the presence of formations and inclusions. It is used to determine this process's structure and stage of development. Samples of different tissues can be used as material for histological examination. The specialist analyzes and describes the histological preparations obtained after processing the material. Thus, we proposed a histological method of studying snails. This method can provide the data of snails’ state as a whole. Snails of the species Helix aspersa maxima, Helix aspersa muller, and Helix pomatia were the material for the study. Ten snails of each species were selected for the experiment at different periods: immediately after hibernation, five days after wakening, 14 days after wakening, and at the time of their active life – in July. First, we conducted histological studies of snails during their active life, i.e., in the summer months. Therefore, for this purpose, snails for the experiment were taken in July. It was determined that if the snail eats and has an everyday life, its digestive gland generally consists of digestive tubules separated by intertubular connective tissue containing hemolymphatic sinuses and hemocytes. Thus, in our research, we studied the structure of the digestive gland. A circular muscle layer surrounds each tubule. There are three different cell types in the epithelium lining the tubules of the digestive glands, which differentiate into digestive cells, calcium cells, and excretory cells. Digestive cells are the most numerous cellular component of the tubular epithelium of the digestive gland. Basally located nuclei of digestive cells have a round or oval shape. During the rest period, the digestive gland of snails is characterized by a complete loss of digestive function and the transformation of digestive cells into excretory ones. Metabolic products are not excreted into the environment. When they accumulate, they fill all cavities in the body of snails, namely the lumens of glandular tubules, excretory ducts, stomach, and intestines. Food intake in snails increases the level of metabolism. It stimulates the differentiation of digestive cells, the functional activity of excretory cells, and the volume of excretory products. It leads to the complete liberation of the digestive tract from accumulated excretion products during the rest period. The structure of the digestive gland is completely restored.

Farmers claim that keeping snails is straightforward, and feeding and caring for them does not require special financial costs. However, all living things are susceptible to infection and often experience mild or severe ailments. Apparent signs of snail disease are visible to the naked eye. They are manifested in atypical behavior, lack of growth and development, and untidy appearance. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to identify diseases of snails and clarify the causes of these diseases. We used: the method of sequential washing, the Fülleborn method, as well as general observations of the behavior of mollusks, their general survey, analysis of the diet, and the temperature-humidity mode of maintenance. It has been established that most diseases of snails occur due to non-compliance with the maintenance regime (crowding, non-compliance with temperature and humidity, lack of general cleaning of the farm) and an unbalanced diet. When researching helminthiasis, it was established that nematodes in different stages of development could be detected more often in snails of the natural population than in mollusks of the artificial breeding type. This is because, on the farm, you can create all the favorable conditions for growing, feeding, and keeping these creatures. The following factors should be considered: if comfortable conditions are not created on the farm, the mollusks can get sick from hypothermia or lack of moisture. The fact that the snail burrows into the soil often and for a long time may indicate improper conditions. Uncomfortably close contact with a rough substrate can lead to malaise and hibernation. The lack of a balanced diet is one of the main factors in the occurrence of snail diseases. The diet should always include fresh vegetables and fruits, protein supplements from meat and cereals, calcium-containing sprinkles from eggshells, and ready-made concentrates. Diseases carried by snails can be related to fungal diseases and intestinal infections. They get to mollusks with food. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly monitor the conditions of keeping, feeding, and condition of snails.

This work focuses on developing a method of determining the degree of freshness of snail meat by means of a photoelectric photometer. For this, the absorbance was measured in filtered meat-water extract with Nessler’s reagent added. The method can be used in laboratories to determine the quality of meat of snails during their processing and sale. The results of using this method allow obtaining quantitative values when assessing the quality of snails of different degrees of freshness. A selection of 180 Helix pomatia snails was studied. They were divided into three groups, 60 snails in each, in accordance with the meat freshness degree. Three degrees of meat freshness were distinguished: fresh, questionably fresh, and stale. Meat samples were taken from all the snails of each group. Then the meat was ground, and 2.00 g portions were taken from each sample. 20.00, 30.00, 40.00, and 50.00 cm3 of distilled water were added successively to the weighed portions. They were infused for 15 minutes and then filtered. 0.50 cm3 of Nessler’s reagent was added to 3.00 см3 of the filtrate. The absorbance of the colour intensity of the meat-water extracts was measured with a concentration photocolourimeter extended in the range of light waves from 400 nm to 490 nm. It has been established that the highest absorbance indicates stale meat, the lowest is characteristic of fresh meat, and the value of absorbance for questionably fresh meat lies in between. Thus, when the concentration of snail meat extract was 1:10, at the wavelength 440 nm, the absorbance values were 1.243±0.031 for stale meat, 0.262±0.034 for fresh meat, and 0.804±0.054 for questionably fresh meat. This may be due to an increase in the ammonia concentration during the meat spoilage process. The three degrees of meat freshness were best determined at the wavelengths 440 nm and 490 nm. The results obtained are qualitatively and quantitatively in line with those of photometric studies of the freshness degree in beef, poultry, and fish.

Heliceculture (breeding of snails) has been practiced in Europe for a long time, and here, in Ukraine, the first snail farms appeared literally 10 years ago. Ukrainians quickly realized that among all areas of animal husbandry, heliceculture is the most profitable. At the same time, you can start a business almost from scratch, and the risks are minimized. This is how the snail boom spread throughout the territory, and now molluscs are grown in almost all cities of Ukraine. It should be remembered veterinary and sanitary requirements on snail farms must be given important attention, because if they are violated, it can lead to the death of molluscs and cause great losses. Taking into account the importance of growing snails in farms and the lack of regulatory and technical documentation in our country, the purpose of this work was to clarify the main veterinary and sanitary requirements for such farms. In this work, the general veterinary and sanitary rules for snail breeding farms, requirements for water and feed, preparation for transportation, vehicles, types of containers, packaging materials and requirements for keeping snails in the field in the summer are carefully considered. Owners of snail farming farms are obliged to implement economic and veterinary-sanitary measures that ensure the prevention of the death of molluscs, maintain premises and facilities for storing feed and processing snail-farming products in proper condition, prevent environmental pollution with waste, comply with zoohygienic and veterinary-sanitary requirements for placement, construction, commissioning of objects related to keeping snails. Compliance with these requirements in the farm plays a big role in the cultivation and maintenance of snails. This will make it possible to grow snails, avoiding any diseases that are inherent to them and death, which will make it possible to obtain snail farming products of high quality and safety. Therefore, in order to prevent invasive diseases, snail poisoning, etc., managers and specialists of these farms (farms) are obliged to ensure the implementation of a set of general veterinary and sanitary measures, as well as the implementation of veterinary and sanitary requirements for the construction, equipment, operation of snail farms and their compliance sanitary regime.

Равликівництво в Україні молода галузь сільського господарства, яка ще не відзначила свого десятиліття. Вона зародилася завдяки окремим гурманам і яка нині продовжує активно розвиватися на хвилі загального інтересу до нетрадиційних видів продуктів здорового харчування. Равликові ферми, що виникають на просторах нашої країни здебільшого керуються і обслуговуються людьми, що не є фахівцями в галузі равликівництва. Якість продукції визначається сукупністю властивостей, що зумовлюють придатність її задовольняти певні потреби людини відповідно до їх призначення. Проблема якості та безпеки м'яса равликів є відкритим питанням зараз в Україні. Для оцінки споживчих переваг харчових продуктів широко використовують сенсорні або органолептичні методи, засновані на аналізі органів чуття людини. Тому мета даної роботи полягала у дегустаційному оцінюванню якості м’яса їстівних равликів. Дослідження були проведені на основі ДСТУ 4823.2:2007 «Продукти м`ясні. Органолептичне оцінювання показників якості. Частина 2. Загальні вимоги». Перед проведенням дегустаційної оцінки равлики перебували 4 дні на голодній дієті та періодично зрошувались водою. Надалі равликів виймали з мушлі, відрізали лише їстівну частину, тобто «ногу» і формували середню пробу м’яса не менше 40,0 г. М’ясо дегустували після теплової обробки. Для цього його клали у каструлю з холодною водою, співвідношення 1:10. Варили протягом 1,5 години від початку закипання води. Подальше приготування відбувалося за легкого кипіння. Піну, що утворювалася, періодично знімали з бульйону. Сіль кидали за 20–30 хвилин до закінчення варіння у кількості 3% від ваги м'яса. Розроблено порядок проведення дегустаційного аналізу та удосконалено схему органолептичних показників якості м'яса равликів. Встановлено, що за допомогою органів чуття, а саме: зору можна визначити у м’ясі равликів зовнішній вигляд та колір, натиском – консистенцію, а нюхом – запах м’яса. Розроблені науково-обґрунтовані методи органолептичного аналізу м’яса, які включають методику відбору, варку та принцип проведення дегустації. На основі проведених досліджень за 5-бальною системою отримано дегустаційний лист та удосконалено показники в ньому, на основі якого можна проводити аналіз якості м’яса їстівних видів равликів.