The hygiene practices of three systems of game meat production in South Africa in terms of animal class and health compliance

Three game meat production systems used on game ranches in South Africa are reported on. System one is applied in the game export market and conforms to the hygiene requirements of the European Union (EU). System two and three entail game meat available on the local market not subjected to any regulation. System 2 however, implemented basic meat hygiene values.Measurements of pH, temperature, Aerobic Plate Count (APC), E. coli, Salmonella and S. aureus were subjected to a 3 × 2 factorial analysis of variance with factors that involve 3 system compliances in 2 classes of game animals in a completely randomised design.The measured bacteriological and quality differences between the three systems do not justify EU standards application on the local market but results indicated a significant compliance × class interaction.

► Big and smaller game animals were compared in terms of quality and hygiene. ► The EU standard for game meat applied in three game meat production systems ► Quality standards were similar in all three systems. ► Hygiene standards were similar in System 1 and System 2. ► Meat hygiene training was identified as crucial for safe game meat.