Thirty goat muscles were microbiologicaly examined for selected microorganisms just after slaughter and during selling in a rural place related
to Assiut Governorate. The animals were slaughtered outside the official slaughter houses under unhygienic conditions. The collected samples were 10 muscles of each of the shoulder, psoas and thigh which were obtained from the same owner at different intervals to evaluate the microbial status of fresh goat carcases as meat is retailed in small quantities from hung carcases throughout the day. The carcase is exposed to ambient temperature, atmospheric and microbial load due to handling practices as well as surfaces of carcases are easily contaminated with microorganisms during skinning and evisceration. The average counts of aerobic plate, Aeromonas hydrophila, coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, E.coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, moulds an yeasts were 76 X 106, 51 X 107, 50 X 105, 46 X 10%, 29.01, 22 X 104,53 and 22 X 103/g of examined shoulder muscles, whereas they were 15 X 106, 34X 107, 20 X 105, 40 X 105,61.31, 89 X 104, 33 and 19 X 103/g of psoas muscles and they were 41 X 106,35 X 107, 10 X 105, 21 X 105, 56.70, 16 X 104, 74 and 25 X 103/g of examined thigh muscles, respectively. The incidence of identified moulds species isolated from examined goat muscles was Asp < /em>. flavus (18.75%), Asp < /em>. niger (56.25%), Mucor spp < /em>. (12.50%) and Penicillium spp < /em>. (12.50%). Public health hazards of slaughtering food animals in unsanitary places outside slaughter houses as well as different sources of contamination of such carcases were discussed.