WATT PoultryUSA - June 2011

»FOOD SAFETY OF POULTRY disease conditions all signi;cantly impact salmonella prevalence on poultry. These factors cannot be controlled by the industry. Studies have demonstrated that Salmonellaprevalence varies by season. Moreover, articles have detailed how higher relative humidity in poultry houses can increase prevalence. A paper in Poultry Science (Russell, 2003) detailed how air sacculitis infections increase Campylobacter counts on broilers. Another popular article with data from more than ;ve million chickens showed that Salmonella prevalence was signi;cantly higher on birds with air sacculitis as well. Unfortunately, the FDA decided to ban the use of the only antibiotic (Enro;oxacin) that is effective for treating air sacculitis (as shown in a study by the Poultry Diagnostic Research Center at the University of Georgia).

Human salmonellosis, cases per 100,000 population, Foodnet States, 1996-2008

20

Incidence

15 Trendline

10

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

While Salmonella on chicken is trending down, cases of human salmonellosis are not falling.

to eliminate the last few remaining Salmonella cells on many more chickens than was required previously. This is a tall order as these cells are ;rmly attached and require much more effort to eliminate.

USDA-FSIS may be expecting the industry to turn some knobs and make adjustments in response to the new the regulation that will make the prevalence go down further. The reality is that the industry will have a very hard time eliminating those last few salmonella cells that are making some of the chickens positive for Salmonella.

Sampling methods create confusion

Campylobacter performance standards

A Campylobacter standard puts the poultry industry in a very dif;cult position. Currently, there is no intervention method that has been demonstrated to be consistently effective for eliminating Campylobacter in chickens during grow-out. Interventions used to control Salmonella transmission from breeder to baby chick (vaccination and hatchery intervention) and to prevent colonization of baby chicks (vaccination and competitive exclusion) have proven ineffective for Campylobacter. In fact, the scienti;c community is still divided on whether Campylobacter is vertically transmitted.

If it is not fully understood how the Campylobacter organism is colonizing baby chicks, how can the industry implement effective interventions? This means the industry is left with no tools for controlling Campylobacter in broiler populations, and all interventions must be implemented at the plant level. As with grow-out, no scienti;c studies exist that demonstrate that one particular intervention works well for controlling Campylobacter.