First snail farm seeks green light for caviar production

Plans have been submitted for the development of an underground snail farm that will also be the first of its kind to produce snail caviar, also known as escargot pearls, a luxury gourmet which is increasingly finding a place on the menus of expensive restaurants.

The farm aims to cater for the high-end local market as well as potential target markets in Europe where currently demand outstrips supply by an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes.

Snail eggs, characterised by their circular shape and pearly colour, are also known as “Pearls of Aphrodite” for their supposed aphrodisiac properties and are already considered a delicacy in the ancient world. 

Demand for this delicacy is growing as high-end European hotels and restaurants are introducing snail caviar in their menus. Its earthy and woody flavour is reminiscent of mushroom and asparagus and is increasingly being sold to both restaurants and private consumers as a fancy party hors d’oeuvre.

Snail caviar is most popular in France and Italy but demand is also growing in Switzerland, Dubai and Russia. At an estimated price of €80 per 50 grams of caviar, collecting and storing snail eggs offers higher profit margins for farmers already producing edible snails. While still a niche product for the high-end market, interest in snail caviar is growing proportionally to the increased demand for snails especially in countries like Italy where snail consumption has increased by 325% in past twenty years.

But it also offers a number of advantages for Maltese farmers. 

This is because snail farming takes up smaller amounts of land compared to livestock farms while start up costs are relatively low.It also offers farmers an opportunity to diversify and to sell directly to consumers who are willing to pay.

Project to be located underground

Jason Muscat, an MCAST lecturer in product design and a registered farmer who also owns the land in question, is proposing the project.

The project, which also promises educational school visits and work placements for students, has been endorsed by Malcolm Borg – Deputy Director of MCAST’s Institute of Applied Sciences – who described the initiative as “commendable and innovative.”

The project is being proposed on an abandoned filed behind the sizeable Sherries garden centre. The site neighbours a large villa and fronts a set of greenhouses and a winery.

The building will have a built footprint of 97sqm, 60sqm of which consisting a green roof used for arable farming above the underground snail chambers. A decision was also taken to eliminate solar panels originally proposed on the building’s roof, since this space is now occupied with planters for produce. “We felt it counterproductive to take up an area in the arable field for placement of panels here.” 

“A first of its kind in Malta, the project presents itself as a means of diversification amidst the island’s traditional farming methods and allows us to join the fast-growing international network of luxury snail caviar production,” architect Dawn Fearne wrote in her project statetment for the developer.

Rearing the snails

Breeder snails will be imported from Sicily and Cyprus. During their first year, the snails shall be cared for meticulously to enhance their breeding potential. The first batch of eggs will not be processed as caviar but kept and reared to increase the snail counts. The caviar’s processing shall begin in the following year. In the first year of production, a monthly output of 1.5kg-3kg of caviar is being projected. In the second year the projected monthly output is 4kg-6kg. 

The applicant will be adopting the curtain breeding method since this allows for higher production levels through the maximisation of space. Each pen will consist of a set of steel rods with a draped washable textile or plastic sheet. Grass and weeds will be allowed to grow at the base to create the humid conditions the snails need. The side of the pen will have a low voltage electric current to reduce the risk of snail escape.

The curtain breeding method ensures better hygiene since dead snails drop to the bottom of the unit and can be easily identified and removed. The pen’s top and bottom surfaces are also easier to inspect and clean. The snails will travel to the wooden planks on top of the unit to eat and excrete at night. During the day, the snails sleep on the curtains or on the underside of the planks.

The project is characterised by self-sufficiency with the surrounding fields being used to feed the snails and their waste used to fertilise the soil. The ácollection of rainwater from the building’s roof and on-site reservoir will also reduce the project’s impact on water resources. 

The proponent has excluded locating the snail farm in an industrial estate, as this would defy the sustainability ethos of the project, requiring additional trips to and from the establishment for the purchase of food for the snails. Moreover the rental prices for such warehousing units are exorbitant for a start-up like this. This will automatically make the project unfeasible.

Neither is it possible to locate the snail farm in a green house structure as sanitisation and caviar sorting and packing cannot be carried out in a greenhouse with soil. Moreover the proposed underground set up makes it easier to control variables like temperature, humidity levels and light ratios which determine how the snails eat, sleep, mate and lay eggs. In retaining the ability to control these parameters, one can optimise the snails’ cycles and render the business.