Hygiene management systems for commercial game harvesting teams in Namibia

There are more than two million game animals in Namibia, with numbers increasing at a rate of 20-40% per annum. Around 90% of the country's wildlife is located outside formally proclaimed conservation areas whilst more than 80% of the larger game species are found on privately owned farms comprising 44% of the surface area of the country. The Namibian wildlife sector offers a commercially viable alternative for generating farm income. The quality of the meat harvested from game meat depends on several factors such as the skill and attitude of the hunter, the health of the game animal before being shot, the position of the shot and the hygienic handling after shooting. Quality aspects further rely on the time before cooling and the transport and treatment of game carcasses as well as the period prior to cooling. Food business operators must therefore establish, implement and maintain hygiene control procedures based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles (EC, 2004a) before exports of game meat to international countries are approved