Studies have reported the isolation of Escherichia coli (E. coli)O157:H7 from pork, lamb and poultry products, and from other animals including deer, horses, dogs, birds and humans. There is limited or no information on the presence of the organism in goats. The objectives of this study were to determine if E. coli O157:H7 was naturally occurring in goats and to assess the prevalence of the organism in this particular species and the related food safety risks. From September 2001 to April 2002, a total of 68 fecal samples, (one per goat) were taken from 12 meat goat herds in North Central Florida for the evaluation of E. coli O157:H7. Nine of the 12 herds (75%) and 30 of the 68 samples (44%) were positive for E. coli O157:H7. Detection of the bacterium on herd bases ranged from 14 to 100%. The total population of E. coli O157:H7 detected in meat goat herds ranged from 1.7 x [10.sup.6] cfu/g feces to 1.0 x [10.sup.10] cfu/g feces. In herds 3 and 9, E. coli populations were statistically indistinguishable from each other but were statistically different (p is less than 0.0001) from the other ten herds.