A qualitative risk assessment of the microbiological risks to consumers from the production and consumption of uneviscerated and eviscerated small game birds in the UK

TY - JOUR

T1 - A qualitative risk assessment of the microbiological risks to consumers from the production and consumption of uneviscerated and eviscerated small game birds in the UK

AU - Horigan, V.

AU - Davies, R. H.

AU - Kelly, Louise

AU - Mead, G. C.

AU - Irvine, R.M.

AU - Simons, R. R. L.

N1 - Notice: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Food Control. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Food Control, [45, November, (2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.04.040.

PY - 2014/11

Y1 - 2014/11

N2 - Since the beginning of the 21st century, consumption of wild game birds has been increasing, concurrent with a rise in consumer interest in free-range and 'healthy-eating' foodstuffs. Game birds can carry zoonotic pathogens, predominantly within the viscera. Whilst removal of the viscera is normal practice during the dressing of game birds, there is a specialised market in the UK for certain small game birds that are consumed uneviscerated. This qualitative risk assessment evaluates the risks to the consumer from the production and consumption of both uneviscerated and eviscerated small game birds for Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli (verotoxigenic), E. coli (antimicrobial resistant), Campylobacter spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydophila psittaci and Listeria monocytogenes. Whilst most pathogen/bird combinations were considered to have a very low risk, results suggest that Campylobacter spp. and T. gondii can pose an increased risk to consumers for some species of wild game birds. There was no greater risk associated with the consumption of uneviscerated game birds than for eviscerated birds. In some cases, the risk from eviscerated birds may even be slightly higher, as the risk of cross-contamination during evisceration can outweigh the reduction in pathogenic organisms due to removal of the viscera. Additionally, the current low frequency of consumption of uneviscerated game birds of most species reduced the overall risk estimate for these birds. If there is an increased frequency of consumption in the future, then this risk should be re-examined. Assuming a general level of compliance with regulations and basic hygiene practices, the results suggested that large outbreaks of infection among UK consumers are unlikely, but sporadic, infectious events could occur due to combinations of 'rare-event, hygiene-related issues' in the 'field-to-fork' chain and/or inadequate cooking of the bird.

AB - Since the beginning of the 21st century, consumption of wild game birds has been increasing, concurrent with a rise in consumer interest in free-range and 'healthy-eating' foodstuffs. Game birds can carry zoonotic pathogens, predominantly within the viscera. Whilst removal of the viscera is normal practice during the dressing of game birds, there is a specialised market in the UK for certain small game birds that are consumed uneviscerated. This qualitative risk assessment evaluates the risks to the consumer from the production and consumption of both uneviscerated and eviscerated small game birds for Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli (verotoxigenic), E. coli (antimicrobial resistant), Campylobacter spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydophila psittaci and Listeria monocytogenes. Whilst most pathogen/bird combinations were considered to have a very low risk, results suggest that Campylobacter spp. and T. gondii can pose an increased risk to consumers for some species of wild game birds. There was no greater risk associated with the consumption of uneviscerated game birds than for eviscerated birds. In some cases, the risk from eviscerated birds may even be slightly higher, as the risk of cross-contamination during evisceration can outweigh the reduction in pathogenic organisms due to removal of the viscera. Additionally, the current low frequency of consumption of uneviscerated game birds of most species reduced the overall risk estimate for these birds. If there is an increased frequency of consumption in the future, then this risk should be re-examined. Assuming a general level of compliance with regulations and basic hygiene practices, the results suggested that large outbreaks of infection among UK consumers are unlikely, but sporadic, infectious events could occur due to combinations of 'rare-event, hygiene-related issues' in the 'field-to-fork' chain and/or inadequate cooking of the bird.

KW - microbiological risk assessment

KW - game birds

KW - evisceration

KW - Campylobacter

KW - Toxoplasma gondii

KW - consumer infection

UR - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/food-control

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.04.040

DO - 10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.04.040

M3 - Article

VL - 45

SP - 127

EP - 137

JO - Food Control

T2 - Food Control

JF - Food Control

SN - 0956-7135

ER -