Prof. Lawrence Goodridge, Department of Food Science, spoke to CBC Radio’s The Current about the move by some provinces and U.S. states to legalize the consumption of roadkill.

Alaskan State Troopers now have a system in which they keep a waiting list of citizens who are interested in salvaging the meat when an animal is killed on the road.

Prof. Goodridge urged caution when dealing with animals found on the side of the road, noting that the safety of the meat can’t be guaranteed. Not only could there be bacteria multiplying in the time it takes to retrieve the animal, there could also be glass or chemical remnants from the vehicle that hit the animal, he said.

Goodridge holds the Leung Family Professorship in Food Safety in the Department of Food Science and pursues interdisciplinary research on food-borne pathogens, antibiotic resistance and food fraud.