With increased consumer knowledge about the relationship between diet and a healthy lifestyle in recent decades, there has been an increase in awareness and demand for efficient protein sources. Rabbit meat is rich in easily digestible protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamins, and minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc), as well as being low in fat, sodium, and cholesterol, which makes it of good edible and nutritional value, so it needs to be handled properly. Rabbit meat, on the other hand, has been associated with the spread of microbial contamination (such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Salmonella species) that may originate from the animal itself, equipment, workers, or the surrounding environment. Each effort must be made to keep rabbit meat free of contaminants that could be harmful to humans. Few studies had been conducted, either internationally or in Egypt, to examine the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of rabbit meat. We shall compile existing data on the quality of rabbit meat in this review. Furthermore, the potential hazards that influence the physicochemical and microbiological qualities and shelf life, as well as the proposals for decontamination trials to enhance the sensory attributes and shelf life of rabbit meat, will be presented.

Forty-nine fresh goat’s milk samples produced by local farmers and sold in market for public consumption as well as raw goat milk in Johor, Malaysia were analysed for total plate count(TPC) , E. coli, Coliform, Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus,Coxiella burnetii as well as aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) content, as measures for food safety. The mean counts per ml for TPC were 4.90 x 105, 6.50 x 105, 1.60 x 105 and 1.48 x 106 for pasteurised, unpasteurised and unknown (status of pasteurisation) milk sold in the market as well as the raw milk from milkcollection center (MCC), respectively. Among pasteurised samples, only one had TPC count higher than the permitted level whereas the rest were all within the permitted level. The mean counts per ml for E. coli were <1.00 x 102 for pasteurised and unknown milkwhereas 1.67 x 101 for unpasteurised and 1.18 x 102 for raw milk. The mean counts per ml for coliform were 9.53 x 103, 9.76 x103, 1.20 x 102 and 1.16 x 104 for pasteurised, unpasteurised, unknown milk and raw milk, respectively. Overall, no significantdifferences on the bacterial counts in both pasteurised and unpasteurised milk. All milk samples were negative of B. melitensis and B. abortus, but one unknown sample fromthe market and two raw samples from MCC were positive of C. burnetii through the ELISA test. The unknown sample from the market showed the presence of C. burnetii when further analysed microscopically. Meanwhile, no sample exceeded the permitted level of AFM1 in milk.