Assessment of microbial carcass contamination of hunted wild boars

Abstract

To investigate the microbiological conditions of hunted wild boar carcasses and factors that contribute to the microbial carcass contamination, skin and carcass meat swab samples from 210 hunted wild boars were collected from freshly shot animals. The mean aerobic colony counts (ACCs) and Enterobacteriaceae counts on the skin were 5.2 and 3.6 log 10 CFU/cm 2 , with 1.4% of animals' skin tested positive for Salmonella spp. Slightly higher mean ACC and Enterobacteriaceae counts of 5.4 and 3.8 log 10 CFU/cm 2 were obtained from carcass meat with Salmonella spp. prevalence of 1.9%. Inadequate hygiene practices in handling and dressing wild boar carcasses, such as evisceration in the laying position on the ground and practice of skin and interior carcass surface washing after evisceration, were found to have the most significant influence on the microbiological conditions of final carcasses. Therefore, these findings indicate the need for the implementation and strict adherence to good hygiene practice in hunting estates and game handling establishments.

Wild Boar: A Reservoir of Foodborne Zoonoses

“…The isolation rates of Salmonella in wild boar varied between 5% and 44% (Cummings et al, 2016, Dias et al, 2015, Glawischnig et al, 2018, Sannö et al, 2014, Sannö et al, 2018 ( Tables 2 and 2S). Salmonella was also isolated sporadically from the carcass meat of hunted wild boars (Mirceta et al, 2017). Sannö et al (2014Sannö et al ( , 2018 isolated Salmonella in the feces, tonsils, and lymph nodes of hunted wild boars in Sweden, and reported the highest isolation rates in the tonsils.…”

The effect of chilled storage on the quality of meat from the feral wild boar (Sus scrofa)

“…The microbiological quality of game meat is very diversified and depend on numerous factors, e.g. qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the primary microflora on the surface and digestive tract of the carcase; the hunting method and the anatomical location of the shot; time and precision of evisceration; time-temperature history and hygienic practise during transport, and carcase dressing operations (Mirceta et al 2017). Quality and shelf-life of meat during storage is also directly related to storage conditions and intrinsic biochemical features of the meat (Boers et al 1994).…”

“…However, the game meat preparation is much more time consuming and requires more cooking skills than preparation of pork, and its accessibility is limited by the hunting season. Moreover there are number of factors affecting the quality of game meat, like the skills of the hunter (precision of the shot), weather conditions, the hygiene of dressing (Paulsen 2011;Mirceta et al 2017).…”

Effect of Age and Sex on the Quality of Offal and Meat of the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)

“…Many studies on the quality of offal confirm their usability for human nutrition, as a good source of valuable protein, vitamins and minerals [3][4][5]. According to scientific studies dealing with game meat, this animal product may be negatively affected by the hunting method or improperly conducted postmortem procedures related with dressing and chilling the carcasses [6][7][8]. Despite the mentioned problems, game meat has benefits over meat from domestic animals.…”