Authors : Cynthia L. Sheffield, Tawni L. Crippen and Ross C. Beier
Abstract: Poultry are generally reared on bedding such as wood shavings, peanut or rice hulls. It has become economically important to reuse poultry litter for multiple flocks often resulting in litter serving as a reservoir of microbial such as Salmonella, Escherichia and Campylobacter. Previous research demonstrated that during the pre-harvest feed withdrawal period, bird consumption of contaminated litter can lead to infection of the upper gastrointestinal tract with Salmonella which presents significant problems during processing. This study examined efficacy of two commercially available compost enhancers CE1 and CE2) in reducing Salmonella typhimurium (ST) in poultry litter. After 8 days, CE1 had an average 6-log decrease in ST concentration and elimination of ST in one third of the samples. CE2 had an average 4-log decrease in ST concentration but did not eliminate ST from any of the samples. This suggests that both materials could potentially decrease the down-time required to substantially reduce the ST concentration in reused litter. Further, these materials are easily incorporated and safe for poultry and humans. This could provide both economic and food safety advantages to the broiler producers and enhance the overall food safety of poultry products.
Cynthia L. Sheffield, Tawni L. Crippen and Ross C. Beier, 2018. Multi-Microbial Compounds Eliminate or Reduce Salmonella typhimurium from One-third of Poultry Liter Samples Within 8 days. Research Journal of Poultry Sciences, 11: 5-8.