Volume 12, No. 3, 2023

Abstract

Meat safety includes the absence of physical hazards that has a potential of causing physical harm to consumers. Whilst there are physical hazards introduced in most in meat products, it is clear that some of the hazards, such as bullets particles and bone splinters, find their way in hunted wild ungulates in processes employed during killing. To assess the physical hazards that may occur in the game meat/venison industry, a systematic review of scientific literature published in English between 2000 and 2021 is conducted. The majority of studies evaluated and identified the risks of wild animal killing, which included fragmented bullets particles and bone splinters due to bones fracturing due to the killing process of game meat animals. Despite alternatives, such as the adoption of less fragmenting bullets, its compulsory implementation is proving a challenge in most countries.