To assess the microbiological quality and safety of export game meat; i) a total of 80 pooled meat samples for
aerobic plate count (APC) and Enterobacteriaceae ii) water used in harvesting and processing for microbiological
quality and iii) meat and rectal contents for Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin Escherichia coli (STEC) were
evaluated in 2009 and 2010. No differences (p>0.05) in the APCs were observed between the years, but the
mean Enterobacteriaceae count for 2009was 1.33±0.69 log10 cfu/cm2 compared to 2.93±1.50 log10 cfu/cm2 for
2010. Insignificant Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) levels were detected in 9/23 fieldwater samples, while fecal
bacterial (coliforms, Clostridium perfringens and enterococci) were absent in all samples. No Salmonella spp. was
isolated and all E. coli isolates from meat were negative for STEC virulence genes (stx1, stx2, eae and hlyA),
suggesting a negligible role by springbok in the epidemiology of STEC and Salmonella.