Infectivity of Toxoplasma gondii in Northern Traditional (Country) Foods Prepared with Meat from Experimentally Infected Seals

Serological and clinical evidence of human toxoplasmosis in the Canadian Arctic indicates a food safety risk associated with the consumption of wild game meat. Such meat often is eaten raw or partially cooked in locally prepared traditional (country) foods, but no data have been collected to describe survival of Toxoplasma gondii forms in these foods. The muscle of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) experimentally infected with T gondii oocysts was used to prepare three country foods: igunaq, a fermented product; nikku, a dried product; and sausage, a salted and spiced product. Igunaq and nikku were stored at 4 degrees C and bioassayed in cats at 49, 95, and 140 days postpreparation (DPP) and 41, 84, and 132 DPP, respectively. Raw and cooked sausages were stored at -20 degrees C and bioassayed at 50, 92, and 141 DPR The source seal meat was infective for cats, but none of the foods prepared with this meat were infective for cats. Some cooked sausages did not reach internal temperatures considered lethal for T gondii. Data from studies in domestic animals suggested that the negative results in this experiment were due to temperature and duration of storage. Because of the possibility that T gondii of arctic origin might be more freeze tolerant than the swine-origin isolate used in this experiment, additional studies are necessary to clarify the risks of toxoplasmosis associated with consumption of arctic country foods.