Many people have fallen into this business in Hungary: no one keeps such an animal today
While most people consider the snail (Helix pomatia) to be a stubborn pest in small gardens, some invertebrates consider this invertebrate to be a gastronomic delicacy, especially in France, where there is typically a huge demand for this specialty. So much so that snails are exported to France from many other countries, including Hungary, to meet demand there. However, the breeding of ethical snails does not exist in Hungary, although there were great flare-ups in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which ended in ugly decline. There is still in-kind collection as well as processing, although the situation in the sector is becoming increasingly bleak.
Snail consumption is usually tied to France, but neither the Italians nor the Spaniards despise this type of meat, although the undoubted fact is that the combined consumption of the two countries is not close to that of the French. At the beginning and middle of the 20th century, even the poor and rich consumed snail meat, but by the end of the century this had been forgotten in Hungary. Most people might not even try ‘snail eating’, although from a nutritional point of view, snail meat is favorablebecause it is easy to digest and season well. Snail meat would be an exceptionally healthy food for others, as it has a protein content of 16% and a fat content of only around 1%. The composition of fatty acids and the secreted saliva, which makes it useful in the treatment of gastrointestinal respiratory diseases.
What about snail farming in Hungary?
The snail business seemed to flourish in the late 1980s, and many people in Hungary began breeding snails. And well, they all fell into it. As the engineer-economist interviewed by the Agricultural Sector dr. Zoltán Rácz Hungaro-Helix Kft. bought a technology, which he then made available to everyone at home, the only problem was that this procedure was not snails (Helix pomatia) but its close relative, Mediterranean snail (Helix aspersa) was invented. However, there are so many differences between the two species that what works in one technology is no longer what works in the other. The expert said that due to the great flare-up, due to inadequate technology and lack of expertise, many producers have put all their money and savings into snail farming, and in 1990-91 a lot of them, even their homes, fell for it. Dr. Zoltán Rácz said that he monitors snail breeding experiments in Hungary, and later, based on the experience gained, he developed his own husbandry technology, which was already optimized for the snail and the conditions in Hungary, but did not launch it on the market. As he said, he was not interested in commercializing the idea, but only the solution itself of how to raise the snail under artificial conditions.
The expert said that with the method he developed, smaller, backyard-type and large-scale snail breeding could be solved, but this would require several things to happen at the same time. Breeders interested in snail farming should become a producer organization because, for example, in order to sell a home-produced snail, a veterinary certificate would have to be issued to sell it, as the status of the snail is special, “semi-protected” in Hungary for most of the year. protected, but between 1 April and 15 June each year, specimens larger than 30 millimeters can be freely collected in the country. the total quantity that can be collected nationwide (2 thousand tons) is also regulated. The engineer-economist also talked about the fact that after obtaining the appropriate veterinary certificate, producers would have to coordinate their activities, because this could not be done in small quantities, 1-2 kilograms could not be sold to traders, but their snails would have to be produced to tonnage. they should also have some profit. marketing and the media should also be addressed, which could lead to a functioning system. De dr. According to Zoltán Rácz, the establishment of the snail breeding sector would also require the authorities to recognize that the snail is a farm animal. The expert believes that keeping could be solved with his technology, but other tasks would require professionals and extensive collaboration. Zoltán Rácz calculates that even with intensive feeding, it would take at least two years for some of the farmed snails to be sold, but nowadays they have two years, not to mention the capital. The expert sees that until the above steps are implemented, there will be no snail breeding sector in Hungary, so the collection in kind will remain, but only until the snails are fully protected.
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No processing, no collection … and vice versa
As the legal and technological background of snail farming is not solved in Hungary, the processing industry only has to make a living from the collected snails. But how big is this manufacturing industry really? A few years ago, one could have said that the largest snail processor in Hungary is located in Zalaszentgrót and is owned by the French IMOFI SRWS Kft. Then in 2019, IMOFI opened its second processing plant in Kisvárda. This was managed by the company’s subsidiary, Bourgogne Gastronomie Kft. (BG), but the processing at the Zalaszentgrót plant has already been completed, and the company has moved all its activities to the east of the country. However, the Kisvárda plant went bankrupt in two years, BG. Ltd. is still in liquidation. With this snail export to Hungary back to one – twentieth, and not even seeing a chance for his resurrection.
Mantar Kft., Which is perhaps the last snail processor in Hungary, operates in Vajan, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. The managing director of the company, Sándor Tóth on the issue of the Agricultural Sector, he said that snails arrive through them through an extensive collection network. The expert explained that anyone is entitled to collect the snails, but the acceptance is subject to a permit issued by the authority at the request of the integrator company. Purchasers can obtain a permit from the company and only take possession of the snails from the collectors. Collecting is similar to collecting herbs, there is a set amount that should not be exceeded. In the case of food snails, this already mentioned 2 thousand tons for a year confirmed Sándor Tóth, who also added that the Hungarian snail industry has not been able to reach it for years, as more and more people are leaving the industry (Zalaszentgrót, Kemenesmárton, Kisvárda), and less and less collection is also done due to the most favorable weather conditions. As the expert put it, the snail needs to be warm, humid and edible, while the spring in Hungary has been windy and dry for years. The fact that the purchase price of snails is terribly low also plays a role in the decline in the desire to collect, and the collected snails cannot be transported profitably from the western part of the country to Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
Regarding the take-over prices, the managing director of Mantar Kft. The acceptance price of snails is currently around 100-200 forints / kg. One kilo of snail meat requires 60 snails. Purchasers can check that screws of the correct size have been taken over and that they are properly fitted before handing them over to the processor. Animals must not be kept in plastic bags, they must be stored in a large, well-ventilated box to ensure that they can withstand them until they reach the processor. Sándor Tóth said that Mantar Kft. Is mostly sold in France to France, and to much smaller countries where there are larger French colonies, but the processor is more concerned with this. The butter business produces a semi-finished product, the snails are taken out of their house and then the guts are cleaned, separated, pre-cooked and quick-frozen. But in addition to snail meat, washed, dried and sized snail shells are also exported. The French processor makes a spicy snail back into his own house from these raw materials. Of course, snail is processed without a house, but the real premium food is a snail stuffed back into its own house.
However, the fact that the coronavirus epidemic is also affecting the French snail sector further nuances the picture he cut ugly. In 202, consumption fell due to the pandemic0, as it closed down the target audience due to the closure of restaurants and the lack of tourists. And the fact that the Christmas fairs were missed that year is also not in the situation of the industry. The spicy snail, replenished in his own house, is a classic appetizer at the traditional year-end celebrations in France. For this reason, snail farmers typically realize 70% of their annual income in November. Snail farmers did not even receive support from the French government at first, as they are a small organization and do not have as much lobbying power as goose liver or cider producers. The French finally listened to the snail farmers’ request and promised to provide emergency support to operators in the sector.
Perhaps it is no exaggeration to say that the Hungarian snail industry is in its final days. The issue of breeding has come off the table after the boom and ugly fall of 30 years ago, and the processing industry is declining as fewer and fewer people are involved in collection and processing. For the sector to have any chance of survival, a change in the regulatory environment would be needed, to create the legal, professional and technological background for snail farming and for producers to see not only a fantasy in breeding but also a secure livelihood. The current situation clearly shows that a processing industry alone cannot be sustained in the long term from the collected snails.
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