The isolation of Salmonella from kangaroos and feral pigs processed for human consumption

A total of 154 feral pig carcases and 81 kangaroo carcases were examined for the presence of Salmonella, coliforms and total aerobic counts. Approximately 34% of pig carcases yielded one or more serotypes of Salmonella, while about 11% of kangaroo carcases were contaminated with salmonella. The results differed widely between sampling occasions. A total of 13 serotypes were isolated from feral pigs with S. anatum (31 isolates) and S. typhimurium (9 isolates) being the predominant serotypes. Coliforms were isolated from approximately 90% of carcases. The mean log10 coliform count on feral pigs was 4.39 +/- 1.45/g and the mean log10 total count was 6.15 +/- 1.15/g. About 21% of carcases were contaminated with more than 100,000 coliforms/g. A total 3 serotypes were isolated from kangaroos (S. bahrenfeld, S. binza, and S. onderstepoort). The mean log10 coliform count on kangaroos was 3.54 +/- 1.04. More than 50% of kangaroo carcases were contaminated with less than 100 coliforms/g. About 15% of carcases were contaminated with more than 10,000 coliforms/g. The mean log10 total count was 5.2 +/- 1.01/g.