Nov 24, 2002 3 min read

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Time was when every deer hunter was taught by a relative or mentor how to properly prepare the carcass if he or she was fortunate enough to harvest a whitetail. But these days there seems to be considerable confusion about how to handle a downed deer, says a food safety extension specialist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. That’s why Catherine Cutter, assistant professor of food science, developed the “Field Dressing Deer” pocket guide. Printed on coated paper that resists moisture and stains, the guide fits inside a hunting license holder to be readily available when a hunter needs to refer to it. The guide describes a 1 2-step process to prepare the carcass for butchering in the field.

Changes in deer-hunting regulations this year have meat processors concerned about the quality of the meat they will be receiving, according to Cutter. “They are concerned about being overwhelmed because hunters may now harvest both bucks and does in the same season,” she explains. “That may result in them receiving more animals to process, so it is especially important that carcasses are field-dressed properly and cooled down.”

Cutter says that delivering a carcass that already is cooled down will insure better quality meat and a microbiologically safer venison product. “With field preparation of deer, we have to change the mindset,” Cutter says. “Years ago, we didn’t know about the pathogens in meat. Now we do, and we know that little things like cleaning the knife between cuts with wipes or alcohol swabs can make a difference.” ,

Game animals – especially deer – are known to carry pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7.

Cleaning, dressing and butchering often are done in the field, so airborne contaminants, weather, temperature and other factors also can affect meat safety.

E. coli 0157:H7 is a harmful bacterium found in the intestinal tracts of game, livestock and other animals, Cutter notes. These pathogens can cause gastrointestinal distress in humans and can be fatal to at-risk populations, such as young children or older adults.

“It’s best to keep your deer cold and dry,” Cutter adds. “That’s what we have to think about – keeping it cold. Temperatures between 41 F and 140 F are the worst because that’s the ideal temperature for bacteria to multiply. So, it is important to get the entrails out of the body cavity as quickly as possible, because they hold in the heat.”

Once the entrails are out and the carcass is cleaned and dried out, she recommends filling the body cavity with bags of ice or snow, if it is available, or milk jugs full of ice frozen ahead of time, until adequate refrigeration facilities are available.

Single copies of the “Field Dressing Deer” pocket guide are available free of charge by contacting your county Penn State Cooperative Extension office, or by calling the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Distribution Center at (814) 865-6713.

A PDF version of the guide suitable for printing is available on the Web at – http:://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/uklO0.html. For other wild game food safety publications, visit the Web at http://pubs.cas.edu/foods.html

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Writer-Editor:

JeffMulhollem

#284

(814) 863-2719 jjm29~psu.edu

For more news from Penn State’s Col!ege of Agncultural Sciences, visit http://aginfo.psu.edu.

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