TY - JOUR AU - Cicero, Antonello AU - Giangrosso, Giuseppe AU - Cammilleri, Gaetano AU - Macaluso, Andrea AU - Currò, Vittoria AU - Galuppo, Lucia AU - Vargetto, Daniela AU - Vicari, Domenico AU - Ferrantelli, Vincenzo PY - 2015/05/28 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Microbiological and chemical analysis of land snails commercialised in Sicily JF - Italian Journal of Food Safety JA - Ital J Food Safety VL - 4 IS - 2 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.4081/ijfs.2015.4196 UR - https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/ijfs.2015.4196 SP - AB - In this study 160 samples of snails belonging to the species <em>Helix aspersa maxima</em> and <em>Helix aspersa muller</em> were examined for chemical and microbiological analysis. Samples came from Greece and Poland. Results showed mean concentration of cadmium (0.35±0.036 mg/kg) and lead (0.05±0.013 mg/kg) much higher than the limit of detection. Mercury levels in both species were not detected. Microbiological analysis revealed the absence of <em>Salmonella</em> spp. and Clostridium spp. in both examined species. E. coli and K. oxytoca were observed in <em>Helix aspersa maxima</em> and <em>Helix aspersa muller</em>. Furthermore, one case of fungi positivity in samples of<em> Helix aspersa muller</em> was found. The reported investigations highlight the need to create and adopt a reference legislation to protect the health of consumers. ER -