Salmonella and other food-borne pathogens are one of the biggest challenges facing the poultry industry, but emerging technologies could help producers better combat food safety threats on the farm.
Why Salmonella is such a big deal
In October 2022, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) unveiled the three components of its proposed framework to improve Salmonella control in poultry products.
“Although there have been large reductions of Salmonella in processing, we’re still seeing people get sick from Salmonella and those illnesses are linked to contaminated poultry products,” Nikki Shariat, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Population Health, Poultry Diagnostic Research Center, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, explained during an appearance on the podcast Food Safety Matters.
“Part of that is linked to increased chicken consumption in the U.S., but part of that is also linked to which specific Salmonella serotypes are making it through the system, so to speak, and this is, in part, what the new FSIS initiative is centered on.”
Better monitoring technologies
CRISPR-SeroSeq, a deep sequencing technique developed in Shariat’s lab, can identify multiple serotypes of Salmonella within a single sample.
Other next-generation sampling techniques only detect the most populous Salmonella serotype in a strain, which may not be the most likely source of foodborne illnesses in people, and fail to identify the less common, more detrimental serotypes.
Because of this, the ability to detect multiple serotypes within a single sample could help the poultry industry develop more effective controls for preventing Salmonella outbreaks.
Options for pre-harvest control
There are several tools designed to improve pre-harvest Salmonella control in poultry – vaccines, feed additives, pest management, intestinal health and management practices.
One innovation that has begun to gain steam for Salmonella control is the use of active live yeast. The probiotic could play a crucial role as part of a multi-hurdle food safety strategy to address USDA’s Salmonella initiative pre-harvest.
Preliminary research revealed that active live yeast supplementation can reduce Salmonella colonization in poultry ceca and other internal organs, in addition to breast skin, neck skin and feces.
“These are kind of neat to study because they not only impact Salmonella, but can also improve growth performance,” said Bill Potter, Ph.D., food safety technical advisor, Elanco, who also participated in the podcast.
Attend the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit
At the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit, Potter will discuss the potential benefits of using active live yeast cultures in broilers, breeders and layers to reduce the incidence of Salmonella.
The Poultry Tech Summit, scheduled for November 6-8 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, focuses on the transition of innovative technologies into commercial applications to advance the poultry industry.
Attendees can expect the same groundbreaking innovation and insightful presentations that made the previous events well-attended with deep dialogue on new prospective solutions and next-generation technologies. Poultry Tech Summit focuses on the transition of innovative technologies into commercial applications to advance the poultry industry.
Registration for this event is now open. Early bird savings are available.
