Food Safety Risk Assessment in the Bushmeat Trade in Cross River State, South South Nigeria

This study conducts a professional food safety risk assessment of the bushmeat trade in Cross River State, located in Nigeria's South South geopolitical zone. Bushmeat consumption is widespread in Cross River State and neighbouring communities, and the handling and sale of wild animal carcasses without veterinary inspection creates risk pathways for zoonotic pathogen exposure including Ebola virus disease, monkeypox, salmonellosis, and helminthiasis. Using a professional risk assessment design based on the Codex Alimentarius risk analysis framework, the study collected 90 bushmeat samples (carcasses and dressed meat) from 15 major bushmeat trading points across three local government areas. Samples were tested for Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and total coliform count. Hunters, traders, and processors were interviewed regarding practices that influence zoonotic exposure. Expert elicitation was used to qualitatively score the probability and consequence of hazard materialisation for priority zoonoses. Findings revealed Salmonella spp. in 28 percent and Campylobacter spp. in 17 percent of bushmeat samples. Expert scoring assessed Ebola virus spillover risk from great ape bushmeat as high probability and severe consequence. Handler practices including dressing carcasses without gloves and using domestic surfaces for carcass preparation were nearly universal. The study recommends regulatory control of bushmeat trade, obligatory veterinary inspection of wildlife products at market points, and public health campaigns on zoonotic risks of bushmeat consumption in Cross River State. Keywords: bushmeat, food safety, zoonosis, Cross River State, risk assessment.