It is often claimed that kangaroo meat is a particular risk for toxoplasmosis and salmonellosis. Certainly, like other meat, kangaroo can become infected with Salmonella, but it is not more prone than other meats, and the usual hygiene standards and practices are required. As far as Toxoplasma is concerned, if kangaroo meat, or other red meat is contaminated with cat faeces, it can transmit toxoplasmosis. Hygienic handling prevents this occurring. Because the preferred way to eat kangaroo meat is rare rather than well cooked, contaminated meat would be less likely to be neutralised. However, although there has been a fuss raised from time-to-time, there is no known case of toxoplasmosis being transmitted by eating kangaroo.
Andrew (1988) reviewed the issue of kangaroo meat and public health, including the records of inspections between 1980 and 1987 made of carcasses by Australian Quarantine Inspection Service officers at export game meat establishments (this pre-dated the change of legislation in New South Wales in 1993). There were records for 204,052 red, eastern and western grey carcasses of which 196,104 were passed as fit for human consumption. Of the 7,948 rejected, 81% were rejected for reasons not associated with parasites or pathology, mainly poor handling, particularly inadequate refrigeration. Of the rest, only 1,452 were rejected because of a parasite, and that was for a nematode, Pelicitus roemeri, which is quite harmless, anyway, to humans, but is unsightly.... it is uncommon, but can infect the muscles of the lower leg.
Andrews' conclusion was '.... that provided harvesting, transportation, refrigeration, inspection and distribution are carried out in accordance with established criteria, kangaroo presents little or no danger to human health when compared to other forms of meat and that there are no public reasons why it could not be considered as a viable alternate to meat from domestic animals'.
