4 keys to better Salmonella control in turkeys, broilers

Prepare for the proposed guidance with new technologies, innovations for food safety.

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Salmonella control is at the forefront of the minds of poultry professionals, and while there’s no silver bullet, there are interventions that can help reduce Salmonella in turkeys and broilers.

At the 2025 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, a panel of experts discussed programs for Salmonella monitoring and reduction that are being tested and proven in the field and will discuss areas where new solutions may need to be developed. The experts were:

  • Elizabeth Krushinskie, DVM and Ph.D., senior technical advisor and owner, Food Safety Risk Management Consulting LLC
  • Kalen Cookson, DVM, MAM, DACPV, director of clinical research, Zoetis
  • Bill Potter, Ph.D., poultry food safety and processing extension, University of Arkansas
  • Arjun Ganesan, CEO, Ancera

    Here are four of the key points shared during the panel:

    1. The entire supply chain needs to get involved

    “In broad terms, we’re there in terms of Salmonella control being a preharvest plus processing endeavor,” Potter said. “To get to the next level, we’ll need to continue to focus on improvements throughout the supply chain.”

    "In Salmonella monitoring, there's valuable information in analyzing quantitative Salmonella ongoing from preharvest through processing. Using quantitative data in combination with periodic serotype analysis provides a great picture of the Salmonella status at a complex," he added. "This drives modifications to improvements at preharvest such as vaccination optimization, control of darkling beetles and using effective feed additives such as prebiotics and postbiotics as needed."

    Potter explained also how some Salmonella vaccines provide great cross protection of various serotypes due to shared somatic or flagellar antigen factors. 

    Everyone – from the hatchery managers, breeders/broiler teams, plant operations, veterinarians, food safety, all the way to the company CEO and more – need to stay involved in reducing Salmonella in broilers and turkeys. Don't forget to go to your vendor partner experts for help as well.

    2. Think of Salmonella like cancer

    There are a lot of interventions against Salmonella, but we won’t know what’s actually effective until we have a better understanding.

    “The reality is, if you try to fight cancer as a whole, that’s a really tough battle to fight,” said Ganesan.

    Instead of thinking of Salmonella narrowly, think of it like cancer – in other words, think broadly. There’s no one cure for all cancers and there won’t be one broad solution for Salmonella. Solutions may vary serotype to serotype.

    3. Salmonella prevention begins with chicks

    Salmonella control begins with the broiler chicks because it’s crucial to limit exposure as early as possible, Cooksen explained.

    Vaccination is currently the best way to do that. The killed vaccines are especially effective in the layer industry against Salmonella enteritidis, although the shared somatic antigens can give broader serotypes. In live vaccines, he’s seen broader protections across serotypes, including Hadar and Muenchen.

    “There is hope that if we implement the vaccines we have today and use them as effectively and consistently as possible, we can really help ourselves,” he added.

    4. Intestinal health matters

    When you have too short of a feed withdrawal, you have potential sources of contamination in the plant, but it can also impact poultry gut health, which in turn can leave birds vulnerable to Salmonella.

    “When you think about it, the gut is the number one barrier keeping the inside out. We’re making a lot of headway in gut health and understanding the microbiome and developing better tools to target the microbiome,” explained Krushinskie.

    “It’s pretty obvious that plays a big role in Salmonella control.”

    For more of what’s next

    For more information on what's next for the poultry industry, attend the Chicken Marketing Summit and Poultry Tech Summit.

    The 2025 Chicken Marketing Summit will be held at the DeSoto Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, on July 28-30, 2025. This one-of-a-kind-event will feature two content tracks. The first will focus on consumers and how technology impacts them, while the second will look at the impact new technologies have from an operational standpoint for chicken companies, retail and foodservice.

    Registration for the Chicken Marketing Summit opens on March 3. For more information, go to www.chickenmarketingsummit.com.

    The Poultry Tech Summit will return as an in-person event on November 3-5, 2025, at the Atlanta Airport Marriott in Atlanta, Georgia. The Poultry Tech Summit brings together inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs, poultry industry professionals and established technology providers to discuss challenges and solutions for all aspects of the poultry supply chain.

    The Poultry Tech Summit Call for Innovation will open in February, while registration for the event opens in June. For more information, go to www.poultrytechsummit.com.

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