{"id":57067,"date":"2019-12-18T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T00:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zinpro.com\/controlling-salmonella-and-improving-food-safety-in-poultry\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:38:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T17:38:54","slug":"controlling-salmonella-and-improving-food-safety-in-poultry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zinpro.com\/en_na\/resource-center\/blog\/controlling-salmonella-and-improving-food-safety-in-poultry\/","title":{"rendered":"Controlling Salmonella and Improving Food Safety in Poultry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The food supply is safer today than ever\nbefore, yet there are an estimated 2 million cases of Salmonella <\/em>resulting\nin 2,000 deaths in the United States each year. Improving intestinal health and\ncontrolling foodborne illness are critical parts of poultry production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn More: Performance Trace Minerals Help Control Salmonella<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Hofacre, DVM, MAM, Ph.D., CEO at The\nSouthern Poultry Research Group, gave a presentation on the importance of\nintestinal health in the prevention of Salmonella<\/em> in poultry during the\nZinpro International Poultry Seminar in Chicago in August 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat down with Dr. Hofacre after his presentation\nto get more details about Salmonella, <\/em>food safety and controlling\nfoodborne illness with reduced antibiotic use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q&A Session with Charles Hofacre, Ph.D.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Marco Rebollo: Is there a direct link between reducing the use of antibiotics in poultry production and Salmonella?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Hofacre: There is actually not a\ndirect link between the two. Early on, producers thought that as we use less\ngrowth-promoting antibiotics we may see more Salmonella <\/em>and other food\nsafety issues but, in reality, we don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major reason for this is because Salmonella<\/em>\nlives in the ceca, which is the lower part of the intestine, while most\ndiseases that were controlled by growth-promoting antibiotics are associated\nwith the small intestine. Additionally, poultry production companies have\nlearned how to manage the birds without the use of growth-promoting\nantibiotics, so gut health issues haven\u2019t changed the playing field for Salmonella.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MR: So, if there aren\u2019t any direct links, are there any indirect links between reducing antibiotic use and Salmonella?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CH: The biggest link we see between Salmonella<\/em>\nand not using antibiotics is when we have necrotic enteritis in chickens. Some\nbirds that become infected with necrotic enteritis don\u2019t die, but instead\nbecome sick. They don\u2019t eat or convert feed and, therefore, won\u2019t grow as well.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn More: Necrotic Enteritis is Robbing Your Profits<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The processing equipment at poultry processing\nfacilities is set for target-sized birds. For example, the target size might be\n2 kilos (4.5 pounds). The birds that got sick may have only grown to 1.5 kilos\n(3.3 pounds) and the equipment doesn\u2019t know how to adjust for those smaller\nbirds. In this case, the equipment will tear the intestines or break the crop,\nallowing intestinal contents to get onto the carcass, increasing the risk of Salmonella<\/em> or Campylobacter<\/em> contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MR: What else can you tell us about necrotic enteritis in chickens? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CH: Necrotic enteritis in chickens is caused by Clostridium perfringens<\/em>, an anaerobic bacterium that lives when there is no oxygen. It\u2019s also a soil bacterium that is present in every chicken house in the world. Therefore, it is a part of the normal flora in the intestine of a chicken because chickens are always pecking around on the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they become infected by an intestinal\ndisease like coccidiosis<\/em>, the coccidial protozoa disrupt the normal\nfunction of the gut and cause the Clostridium\nperfringens <\/em>to bloom and kill intestinal cells. The human equivalent would\nbe Crohn\u2019s disease or irritable bowel syndrome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MR: What should poultry producers know about Salmonella or Coccidiosis vaccines? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CH: Live Salmonella<\/em> vaccines are\nexpensive, so it\u2019s not something that is done across the board in the poultry\nindustry. Producers will use Salmonella <\/em>vaccines if they suspect they\nhave a Salmonella<\/em> issue or if they\u2019re not meeting performance standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salmonella <\/em>can also be controlled in broilers by lowering Salmonella <\/em>levels\nin breeders. Vaccinating breeders is very effective.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance Trace Minerals Improve Vaccine Uptake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Supplementing your poultry nutrition and\nfeeding program with Zinpro Performance Minerals\u00ae<\/sup> helps manage Salmonella<\/em>\nthrough four primary mechanisms: <\/p>\n\n\n\n