Microbial contamination of moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) carcasses harvested by hunters.

Microbial contamination of moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) carcasses harvested by hunters. Food Microbiol. 2019 Apr;78:82-88 Authors: Sauvala M, Laaksonen S, Laukkanen-Ninios R, Jalava K, Stephan R, Fredriksson-Ahomaa M Abstract Hunting is currently a very popular activity, and interest in game meat is increasing. However, only limited research is available on the bacterial quality and safety of moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) harvested by hunters. Poor hunting hygiene can spread bacteria onto the carcasses, and inadequate chilling of the carcasses may increase the bacterial load on the carcass surface. We studied the bacterial contamination level on carcasses of 100 moose and 100 white-tailed deer shot in southern Finland. Hunters eviscerated carcasses in the field and skinned them in small slaughter facilities. During the sampling, same person visited 25 facilities located in 12 municipalities of four provinces. Moose carcasses had mean mesophilic aerobic bacteria (MAB), Enterobacteriaceae (EB) and Escherichia coli (EC) values of 4.2, 2.6 and 1.2 log10 cfu/cm2, respectively, while deer carcass values were 4.5, 1.5 and 0.7 log10 cfu/cm2, respectively. Moose carcasses were significantly more contaminated with EB and EC than deer carcasses. High bacterial counts (MAB>5.0 log10 cfu/cm2 and EB > 2.5 log10 cfu/cm2) on the carcasses were associated wit...
Source: Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Food Microbiol Source Type: research