Transport of wild game and wild game meat

Managing food safety risks begins at primary production (for example, hunting) and good hygiene practices must be maintained during the transport/distribution of wild game and wild game meat along the food supply chain.

The hygiene requirements which apply to the transport of wild game from the place of production (for example, the kill site) to an establishment are set out in Annex I under the general requirements for the hygiene of foodstuffs applying to all food business, including primary producers. Unless you are exempt from these general requirements (for example, under the exemptions set out in Section 2.1 and Section 2.2) you must abide by the basic hygiene requirements in Annex I. Those transporting wild game and wild game meat must abide by the traceability principles and requirements.

If you transport wild game to an AGHE, you will need to be registered as a food business with your Local Authority and comply also with related requirements set out at Section IV of Annex III by the specific hygiene rules applying to businesses producing food of animal origin for the handling of wild game. These rules require for wild game to be transported to the AGHE as soon as possible after the trained person’s examination has taken place. 

During the production, transport/distribution of wild game and wild game meat the cold chain is not to be interrupted as to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Temperatures during transport need to be maintained at:

• 7°C for large wild game and wild game meat (other than offal)
• 4°C for small wild game and wild game meat
• 3°C for offal

During transport, wild game must not be piled, heaped or stacked at any stage as this will facilitate cross-contamination and make cooling of the wild game difficult.

Good and bad examples of transport and storage can be found in the Wild Game photos PDF.