A review of potential risk factors linked to shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in wild deer populations and the practices affecting the microbial contamination of wild deer carcasses with enteric bacteria

Does expanding wild venison consumption substitute livestock meat consumption? Evidence from the demand systems analysis of meat products in Hokkaido, Japan

In many countries, growing deer populations cause environmental, economic, and traffic safety problems. This study sheds light on the potential implications of expanding the consumption of venison from hunted wild deer through deer population management efforts. It focuses on changes in environmental impacts resulting from changes in the demand for livestock meat due to increased consumption of wild venison. We analyzed the demand system between them using the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) model and scanner data from a grocery store chain in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The results show that wild venison is a substitute good for pork and lamb. By contrast, wild venison is a complementary good for imported and domestic beef. Based on the estimated demand system model, we conducted an environmental footprint analysis to estimate the changes in environmental impacts when venison consumption increased. This shows that the greenhouse gas, water, and land footprints would increase, indicating greater environmental impacts, under a scenario of expanded venison consumption. The results demonstrate that increased venison consumption does not necessarily reduce the net environmental impacts of meat consumption, which depends on the demand system for meat products and the environmental footprint intensities of the respective products.

Occurrence and distribution of Salmonella serovars in carcasses and foods in southern Italy: Eleven-year monitoring (2011–2021)

Salmonella is one of the most common agents of foodborne illness. The genus Salmonella includes two species (Salmonella bongori and S. enterica) and six subspecies (enterica I, salamae II, arizonae IIIa, diarizonae IIIb, houtenae IV, and indica VI), each of which contains multiple serotypes associated with animal and human infections. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of Salmonella spp. in carcasses of food-producing animals and foods in southern Italy and the serovar distribution among different sources. From 2011 to 2021, a total of 12,246 foods and 982 samples from animal carcasses were collected and analyzed. The overall percentage of positive samples was 5.84% (N = 773) and a significant increase in prevalence was observed by comparing the years 2011–2015 (257, 3.27%) and 2016–2021 (516, 9.61%; p < 0.05). The highest percentage of positive food samples was observed in “Meat and Meat Products” (N = 327/2,438, 13.41%) followed by “Fish and fishery products” (N = 115/1,915, 6.01%). In carcasses, the highest percentage of positive samples was reported from broilers (N = 42/81, 51.85%) followed by buffalo (N = 50/101, 49.50%) and pork (N = 140/380, 36.84%). After typing, the isolates were assigned to the species S. enterica and to the subspecies: enterica (N = 760, 98.32%), diarizonae (N = 8, 1.03%), salamae (N = 3, 0.39%) and houtenae (N = 2, 0.26%). S. Infantis was the most frequently detected (N = 177, 24.76%), followed by S. Derby (N = 77, 10.77%), monophasic S. Typhimurium (N = 63, 8.81%), S. Typhimurium (N = 54, 7.55%), and S. Rissen (N = 47, 6.57%). By comparing the sampling period 2011–2015 with that of 2016–2021, an increase in the prevalence of S. Infantis and monophasic S. Typhimurium and a decrease of S. Typhimurium were recorded (p < 0.05). Thus, present data suggest that, despite the implementation of national and European control strategies to protect against Salmonella, the prevalence of this pathogen in southern Italy is still increasing and a change of national control programs to protect against Salmonella are necessary.

Hormetic dose responses induced by antibiotics in bacteria: A phantom menace to be thoroughly evaluated to address the environmental risk and tackle the antibiotic resistance phenomenon

The environmental contamination of antibiotics caused by their over or inappropriate use is a major issue for environmental and human health since it can adversely impact the ecosystems and promote the antimicrobial resistance. Indeed, considering that in the environmental matrices these drugs are present at low levels, the possibility that bacteria exhibit a hormetic response to increase their resilience when exposed to antibiotic subinhibitory concentrations might represent a serious threat. Information reported in this review showed that exposure to different types of antibiotics, either administered individually or in mixtures, is capable of exerting hormetic effects on bacteria at environmentally relevant concentrations. These responses have been reported regardless of the type of bacterium or antibiotic, thus suggesting that hormesis would be a generalized adaptive mechanism implemented by bacteria to strengthen their resistance to antibiotics. Hormetic effects included growth, bioluminescence and motility of bacteria, their ability to produce biofilm, but also the frequency of mutation and plasmid conjugative transfer. The evaluation of quantitative features of antibiotic-induced hormesis showed that these responses have both maximum stimulation and dose width characteristics similar to those already reported in the literature for other stressors. Notably, mixtures comprising individual antibiotic inducing stimulatory responses might have distinct combined effects based on antagonistic, synergistic or additive interactions between components. Regarding the molecular mechanisms of action underlying the aforementioned effects, we put forward the hypothesis that the adoption of adaptive/defensive responses would be driven by the ability of antibiotic low doses to modulate the transcriptional activity of bacteria. Overall, our findings suggest that hormesis plays a pivotal role in affecting the bacterial behavior in order to acquire a survival advantage. Therefore, a proactive and effective risk assessment should necessarily take due account of the hormesis concept to adequately evaluate the risks to ecosystems and human health posed by antibiotic environmental contamination.

Improving Hunted Wild Boar Carcass Hygiene: Roles of Different Factors Involved in the Harvest Phase

Game meat production strongly differs from that of other meats, as peculiar factors present in the field and in the steps prior to transfer to a game-handling establishment can influence the hygiene of the carcasses and, therefore, of the meat. The effects of such factors were considered in hunted wild boars based on the main hygienic criteria adopted in meat processing. Environmental, animal, and hunting conditions were studied during two selective hunting seasons in Central Italy. A total of 120 hunted wild boar carcasses were sampled after the skinning process and analyzed for aerobic colony count, Enterobacteriaceae count, and Salmonella spp. isolation. The calculated mean values for aerobic colony and Enterobacteriaceae counts were 3.66 and 2.05 CFU/cm², respectively, in line with the limits set for the meat of other ungulates by EU legislation. Salmonella spp. showed a prevalence of 2.5% (IC 95%: 1.72–3.27%). Statistical analysis of the data performed with the AIC criterion showed that the main parameter to consider for improving the hygienic level of carcasses is to reduce the time in the refrigerator before skinning, followed by hunting on cold days (<10 °C) without rain, hunting animals <60 kg, and reducing the time between shooting and evisceration.