The Influence of Potable Water, Lactic and Acetic Acids on the Microbiology of Wound Areas on Impala (Aepyceros melampus) Carcasses

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

good work and it should be published.  

please shorten the introduction, 

what is possible limitation and future direction.

which one is table 2?  

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Comment 1

Good work and it should be published.  

Response 1

Thank you for the thumbs up.

Comment 2

Please shorten the introduction, 

Response to comment 2

The introduction has been shortened, to also incorporate comments from reviewer 2, more information has been added about the numbers of impala hunted and relevance to game meat production in general.

Comment 3

What is possible limitation and future direction?

Response to comment 3

The limitation of uncontrolled usage of organic acids has been highlighted in the manuscript under the discussion section. The other possible measures adoptable for the decontamination plans during slaughter have also been highlighted. This would include other physical decontamination strategies such as the use of hot steam, trimming of bruised carcasses and improved primary meat inspection plans. 

Comment 4

Which one is table 2?  

Response to comment 4

Thank you, the heading of table 2 has been included and a proper reference to the table in the manuscript is included.

Reviewer 2 Report

General comments: The study investigated the influence of two hunted methods on microbial contamination of Impala carcasses. Moreover, the potable water, 5% LA or AA solution were employed to assess their efficiency in reducing the microbiological present. The results of this study indicated the shotgun pellets resulted in less body damage along with fewer microorganism in comparision with rifle killed method, which was meaningful for game meat animal hunting. I want to known whether Impala is endangered animals. How many is the amounts of Impala in Africa? Is it permitted to hunt Impala freely? In my opinion, the wild aminals should be protected rather than being hunted. In addition, the English language should be edited.

 Line 38, the introduction about Impala should be added in this section. I think that it’s very important to introduce the amounts of Impala, the legal provision of hunting and so on.

Line 85-87, as you mentioned, only the use of potable water was allowed to rinse the fresh carcasses in South Africa. Why do the authors test the LA or AA solution on microbial decontamination?

Line 89, How many does the game meat products accout for in the total of meat products in South Africa?

Line 122, the two hunted method should use the unified term: aerial (helicopter) shotgun or land-based rifle bullet shots. Please check the manuscript.

Line 211-213, the significant difference in AD and AC should be marked in Figures. In addtion, the Figure 2 and Figure 3 shoul be combined in one figure, likely to Figure 4 and 5 or Figure 6 and 7.

Table 2: the table title should be added.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2 Comments

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Comment 1

General comments: The study investigated the influence of two hunted methods on microbial contamination of Impala carcasses. Moreover, the potable water, 5% LA or AA solution were employed to assess their efficiency in reducing the microbiological present. The results of this study indicated the shotgun pellets resulted in less body damage along with fewer microorganism in comparison with rifle killed method, which was meaningful for game meat animal hunting.

Response to comment 1

Thank you, for the comment.

Comment 2

I want to know whether Impala is endangered animals. How many is the amounts of Impala in Africa? Is it permitted to hunt Impala freely? In my opinion, the wild animals should be protected rather than being hunted.

Response to comment 2

Noted, In South Africa and many other game meat producing countries in Africa, Impala is not classified as endangered (listed by the ICUN as ‘Least concern’ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/550/50180828) in fact in many instances Impala  is one species that is mostly hunted for meat production. It is difficult to get a population of Impala in other countries. The researchers have searched for latest data of impala estimates in South Africa. The information is also included in the manuscript. While these hunts or harvesting are generally taking place under ‘controlled’ situations, where professional or proficient hunters are responsible for the shooting of the animals, specific shots are accepted for the meat to enter the formal trade and there are guidelines followed during these hunts such as that animals must be dressed at an abattoir and a meat inspection conducted to ensure meat safety, before it can be traded. The researchers took advantage of a situation where animals were culled as part of game management plans at a registered farm, where both killing methods were used and the meat derived from these processes was allowed to legally enter the meat/food chain. None of the animals were killed for experiment purposes. We would like to reiterate that the meat samples were collected opportunistically during a normal management activity at a registered abattoir after dressing AD- (Treatment with OA) and after chilling AC to draw the conclusions and recommendation of the two treatments.

Comment 3

In addition, the English language should be edited.

Response to comment 3

Thank you, the manuscript has been submitted for language editing and a certificate from the language practitioner is included.

Comment 4

Line 38, the introduction about Impala should be added in this section. I think that it’s very important to introduce the amounts of Impala, the legal provision of hunting and so on.

Response to comment 4

Much appreciated, quantities, estimations percentages of Impala generally hunted or harvested for meat production is included in the Introduction. This information is from formal processes and mainly meat destined for export purposes. The legal provision is also included in the manuscript (Veterinary Procedure Notices) to be followed when hunting game for meat production, with a highlight on the fact that many game farmers are breeding game for trophies and as part of eco-tourism. Some of the strategies employed include the promotion of breeding for trophy hunting (horn size at a pre-determined) and harvesting of meat from those animals that do not meet trophy standards. In these processes, identified animals are shot as part of the normal management strategy to remove sub-par animals that do not meet the breeding criteria (horn size or colour). This meat subsequently enters the food chain after normal slaughter and dressing at local Slaughter facilities or abattoirs. Farmers have the right to trade their own game meat animals within and following correct prescripts stipulated in VPN guideline that address general requirement, slaughter plan, Game breeding, and harvest/hunt game animals as part of their game farm management strategies and subsequently supply local markets with such meat. Some of the strategies employed include the promotion of breeding for trophy hunting (horn size at a pre-determined age) and harvesting of meat from those animals that do not meet trophy standards. In these processes, identified animals are shot as part of the normal management strategy to remove sub-par animals that do not meet the breeding criteria (horn size or colour). This meat subsequently enters the food chain after normal slaughter and dressing at local slaughter facilities or abattoirs Meat derived from these processes is processed to enter the food chain; specific requirements must be met in terms of hygiene and food microbiology control or contamination control.

Comment 5

Line 85-87, as you mentioned, only the use of potable water was allowed to rinse the fresh carcasses in South Africa. Why do the authors test the LA or AA solution on microbial decontamination?

Response to comment 5

Thank you for the comment, LA and AA, is widely accepted as a decontaminant of choice in many developed countries in meat processes; concentrations of between 1-5% are generally used and accepted. These acids are organic and are generally found easily in many countries and have been identified by many food researchers as affordable decontaminant of choice in game meat production. The researchers looked at the most available OA in South Africa as a result LA and AA proved to be the commonly used in processed meat/ but not in raw meat during slaughter. The need to also highlight that at abattoirs in South Africa the usage of any chemical to decontaminant or as a treatment plan is subject to approval by Veterinary Public Health (VPH). However, due to paucity of data and research, this authority has not included the usage of any chemical for decontamination purposes of fresh meat in any meat regulations. This manuscript looks at the uninvestigated possibilities of using these OA as a decontaminant during slaughter in South Africa, if there are meat safety benefits.

Comment 6

Line 89, how many does the game meat products account for in the total of meat products in South Africa?

Response to comment 6

Due to the nature of game meat production (formal and informal), the number of meat products of game origin is unknown but it is safe to say they are many and are available in many retail butchers and private butcheries. Only formal numbers from formal game farms, slaughtered at registered abattoirs can be quantified. It is estimated that the game meat industry is around 9 billion South African Rand and this is expected to grow even much more in post Covid times. The total value of money contributed by number of game meat in 2015 was around 194000 USD, thus making this a significant economic activity in South Africa. Unfortunately, this is only meat slaughtered formally and mostly destined for the export market. Meat consumed locally and informally produced is not accounted for.

Comment 7

Line 122, the two hunted method should use the unified term: aerial (helicopter) shotgun or land-based rifle bullet shots. Please check the manuscript.

Response to comment 7

Noted, where applicable and throughout the manuscript the unified term of aerial (helicopter) shotgun and land-based rifle bullet shot has been used.

Comment 8

Line 211-213, the significant difference in AD and AC should be marked in Figures. In addition, the Figure 2 and Figure 3 should be combined in one figure, likely to Figure 4 and 5 or Figure 6 and 7.

Response to comment 8

Noted, new figures have been created with error bars to highlight “logs/mg”, averages, min, maximum and SD and meaningful differences on the 3 microorganism of interest. Figure 2 and 3 (combined in Figure 2); 4 and 5 (combined in Figure 3) as well as 6 and 7 (combined in Figure 4). The graphs are really looking better now. Thank you.

Comment 9

Table 2: the table title should be added.

Response to comment 9

Thank you, the title of Table 2 has been added.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I suggested accepting this paper.