The effect of delayed evisceration on the microbiological safety of black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) meat

Abstract

Slaughter protocols for game harvesters are defined by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in South Africa in Veterinary Procedural Notice (VPN 8). VPN 8 stipulates that game animals should normally be eviscerated in a hanging position within 2 hrs after being shot, and if bloating occurs evisceration must be done as an emergency, within 0.5 hr, or as soon as possible after bleeding by the game harvester. It would be beneficial to know if the concept of delayed evisceration has any deleterious effects on the microbiological safety of harvested black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) meat. The objective of this research project was to determine if delayed evisceration has an effect on enteric bacterial translocation across the intestinal mucosal barrier into the abdominal cavity. Sixteen harvested animals were grouped together in groups A, B, C, D and E, based on a time delay in evisceration. After each animal was eviscerated, an 8mm punch biopsy from the abdominal peritoneum was collected and placed into a 2 ml Biofreeze vial. In the laboratory, the biopsy samples were inoculated on blood and MacConkey agar plates and incubated for three days at 37°C. The bacterial species targeted for isolation were indicator bacteria for movement across the intestinal barrier. The quantifiable absence of bacteria from the samples that were subjected to bacterial isolation in this study indicates that bacterial translocation across the intestinal barrier is negligible in black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) exposed to delays in evisceration for up to 5 hrs. Evidence indicating that black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) meat exposed to bloating and a delay in evisceration is not safe for human consumption due to bacterial translocation is therefore lacking.