Cl4-L«nca*ter Farming, Saturday, December 11, 1999 RAISED GAMEBIRDS: AN OVERVIEW OF FOOD SAFETY ISSUES Bhushan Jayarao Extension Veterinarian Department of Veterinary Science What are gamebirds? Wild gamebirds such as grouse, guineafowl, partridge, squab (young pigeon), quail, pheasant, wild ducks, wild geese, and wild turkey have been a part of the diet of the rural community who engage in hunting birds. However in recent years there has been an interest and demand for farm raised gamebirds (pheasants, quails, partridges, mallard ducks, wild turkeys, emu, ostrich and rhea) as more and more restaurants and home diners have farm-raised gamebirds on their menu. Game species raised on farms under appropriate regulations can be sold. Wild game species, that can be legally hunted under federal or state regulatory authority, can not be sold, but can be hunted for personal consumption under the guidelines and laws governing the region. Information on regulations related to hunting of wild and migratory birds can be sought from the State Fish and Wildlife agen cies or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for federal regulations. How big is the farm-raised gamebird industry? Although not well publicized, the farm-raised gamebird industry is large and supplies live and dressed birds to restaurants, mark ets, and directly to consumers. The farm-raised gamebirds include pheasants (approximately 10 mil lion), quail (37 million, including 12 million Bobwhite), Chukar par tridges (approximately 4 million), Mallard ducks (approximately 1 million), wild turkeys (approxi mately 200,000), and several other bird species. What are some of the farm raised gamebirds in the United States? • Wild ducks. Histoty indicates that the Chinese were the first to be successful in raising wild ducks. The wild ducks raised on farms in the U.S. ate descendants of either the Muscovy or Mallard species, and America’s Long Island ducks are offspring of Pekin ducks (a var iety of Mallard) brought from Chi na in the late 1800 s. A young duck or duckling is generally under 8 weeks of age, weighs about 3.5 to 5 pounds, and has dark, tender meat, and a mature duck is more than 6 months of age and has tougher meat. • Geese. Geese were domesti cated and raised in Asian coun tries, particularly in ancient Egypt, China, and India. A farm-raised goose weighs between 5 and 18 pounds and has tender meat. • Guinea fowl. This bird, some times referred to as guinea hen or African pheasant, is related to the chicken and partridge. Guinea fowl is most likely to have origi nated from Guinea, West Africa. A young guinea fowl (11 weeks old) has tender meat The meat is light red and slightly dry with a mild gamey flavor. Guinea fowl are small in size (2 to 3 pounds) and are sold as whole, including • Partridge. Partridges raised and sold in the U.S. market are the European or African varieties. In recent years, the Chukar variety from India has gained much popu larity in the U.S. market • Pheasant. Originally from Asia, the female of this medium size gamebird (approximately 3 pounds) has mote tender, plump, and juicy meat than the male (approximately 5 pounds). • Quail. American quail are known by various names such as Bobwhite, partridge, and quail (blue, California, mountain and Montezuma). A ready-to-cook quail weighs about 3 to 7 ounces, including the giblets. • Squab or pigeon. Has been a delicacy for several centuries in the Middle East and Asia. A young immature pigeon that's about 4 weeks old is called as squab. The meat is veiy tender and the bird usually weighs about 12 to 16 ounces (including giblets). A pigeon has been allowed to mature and has tougher meat than a squab. • Wild turkeys. Turkey is a native bird of North America. The name “turkey” was first given to African guinea fowl. When the first settlers in the U.S. came upon the American turkey, they thought it was the same bird as the African guinea fowl, and perhaps referred to it as turkey. However the two birds are quite distinct Are game animals inspected by USDA? The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) branch of the USDA does voluntary inspection of migratory waterfowl (such as ducks and geese), gamebirds, tatiles (emu, ostrich, and rhea), and squab. The FDA is responsible for inspection of imported wild game, and all other foods not cov ered by the federal meat and poul try inspection laws. How arc gamebirds raised on farms? The gamebird chicks ate highly susceptible to diseases, and there fore need a clean, healthy environ ment, free of predators and para sites, with lots of clean, fresh water, fresh air, and feed. They are housed in warm buildings with floors covered with litter made of agricultural byproducts such as pine shavings, rice or peanut hulls, sugarcane fiber, and ground corn cobs. The gamebirds are fed a diet similar to domestic poultry, typi cally a lowfat mix that is higher in protein than that fed to chickens. The feed ingredients could include com, alfalfa meal, wheat, soybean, meat-bone scrap, whey, fishmeal, and a vitamiq/mineral mix. When birds are a few weeks old, some producers transfer the game birds to flight pens. The flight pens vary in size but in general ate about 130 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 6‘A feet high. The floors of these pens ate coveted with natural veg etation. The use of sheds in flight pens protects the gamebirds from weather extremes, predators, peo ple, and themselves. Hormones are not used in rais ing gamebirds. However, FDA approved antibiotics and antipar asitic drugs may be used. These drugs are administered in their feed or water. If a drug is given, it must be used according to its label ing. Almost all these drugs require a “withdrawal" period usually 14) to 5 days from the time it is admi nistered until it is legal to slaughter the animal or bird. This is so residues will not be in the meat. FSIS randomly samples the meat at slaughter and tests for any drug residues. What foodbomc bacteria are associated with gamebirds? • Wild gamebirds. It has been well documented in the literature that wild gamebirds serve as car riers for agents of several zoonotic diseases (communicable diseases between animals, birds and human beings) including foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens. It’s extremely impor tant to know how to handle wild gamebirds after they are killed. The birds should be defeathered (skinned where possible), eviscer ated within an hour of kill, and the carcass should be placed in plastic # THREB POINT pavinp Nwwfirl togl*—ring. 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It’s frequently observed that hunters, after killing the birds, usually put them in the back of their truck, and allow them to stay there anywhere from 4 to 12 hours and sometimes under hot and humid conditions. Such practices are detrimental both for the quality of meat and to the health of the individuals who consume such meat. If the birds are not defeathered and eviscerated within an hour following the death of the bird, foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli. Sal monella, Campylobacter, and Clo stridium perfringens present in the intestine could grow to high num bers. Removal of the gut contain ing high bacteria counts could con taminate the carcass and organs, resulting in contaminated meat When on evisceration, wild game birds show extensive parasitic infestation, foul odor emanating from the thoracic and body cavi- # V ' #s^' V-' >* < nr* -** MF COMPACT TRACTORS Massey Ferguson started a tradition many years ago. 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Foodbomc pathogens include Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clo stridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. When proper care is taken during handling of live gamebirds, evisc eration, and cleaning and cutting of the meat, this results in none to minimal contamination of carcas ses with foodbomc pathogens. What precautions should be taken while handling gamebird meat? Gamebird meat is handled just as poultry meat. The demand for (Turn to Page CIS)
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