Microbiological quality of freshly shot game in Germany

In the framework of a project on the hygiene status of freshly shot game 289 samples were microbiologically analysed: 127 samples from wild boars, 95 from roe deer and 67 from red deer. The microbiological parameters evaluated were the mesophilic aerobic count (APC), which showed mean log10-counts of 2.6 cfu/cm2 for roe deer, 2.9 cfu/cm2 for red deer and 3.2 cfu/cm2 for wild boars and the numbers of Enterobacteriaceae, which gave mean log10-values of 2.1 cfu/cm2 for all three species with differing ranges. The concentrations of coagulase positive staphylococci were >2.0 log10 cfu/cm2 between 3.2 and 6.3%, according to species. Listeria was found in 14 samples and three samples gave a positive result for Campylobacter. Salmonella was not found in any of the samples analysed.