MEAT QUALITY OF WILD BOARS .2. MICROBIOLO GICAL EXAMINATION OF WILD BOARS AFTER HUNTING

Presently, there are only few informations on the microbial load of Ge rman game. In general, however, there are no objections regarding the microorganism contents. In the past, microorganisms of concern to huma n health were isolated only from animals that died naturally, by an ac cident or if their intestines were damaged while shot. Our investigati ons showed that the production of game of good hygienic quality is pos sible, provided a ''good hunting practice'' was applied. The microbial load of game depends on a variety of parameters which interact during shooting, evisceration, transport and cutting. For the consumer, the hygienic status on distribution of the meat is the result of these ind ividual parameters. From this point of view, fresh samples of game (lo in and neck muscles of 21 male wild boars) were subjected to microbiol ogical examinations. None of the samples examined showed a total aerob ic mesophilic count above 5 x 10(6) microorganisms/g. This value is co nsidered as ''still acceptable'' for pig and beef carcasses and fresh pork and beef. Four ''hygiene classes'' were obtained by grouping of t he results. These classes were defined by (i) the total microbial coun t and (ii) the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae. From a hygienic point of view, ten out of 21 samples were considered as ''unobjectionable''. Another four samples could be classified as ''very satisfying''.