With biosecurity and bird health a key priority at Bernard Matthews Farms, the BioCote® protected poultry crates from Anglia Autoflow Ltd have been chosen for their proven effectiveness in helping reduce the risk of pathogen cross-contamination.

Used to transport turkeys from farm to processing plant, the new crates will become an integral part of Bernard Matthews Farms' hygiene strategy, which centres on animal welfare and food safety.

A hotspot for the potential cross contamination of flocks, the crates already undergo a thorough decontamination process between uses. However, in trials for Anglia Autoflow, the BioCote-protected crates demonstrated a significant reduction in any remaining pathogen load. This effectiveness was sustainable throughout the repeated cycle of the crates, from contact with flocks, through the decontamination process to re-contact with the flocks.

Bernard Matthews Farms Head of UK Technical Operations, Herluf Thun-Rasmussen said: "The antimicrobial protection continues to work for the lifetime of the crate, helping us further improve the bio-security cycle when returning clean trays back to farms for bird collection.

"Bio-security is our first concern, and the investment during 2010 in BioCote®-protected crates will add further to our already exhaustive measures in this area."

Steve Dennett, Anglia Autoflow's business development manager, added: "Our trials suggest there are a number of benefits of incorporating BioCote® into poultry transportation crates to help meet the objective of reducing pathogen load, and we're delighted that Bernard Matthews Farms recognise the value of antimicrobial protection and have embraced this new technology so quickly."

BioCote Ltd's commercial director Graham Harvey said: "While BioCote protection is a credible and proven technology that adds real value to any product range, this is not just a nice option to offer manufacturers and customers - there's a very real and urgent need to tackle the cross contamination of bacteria in all hygienic environments. We're delighted to be working with Anglia Autoflow to reduce levels of bacteria in this critical part of the food chain and it's great to see Bernard Matthews Farms leading the way by continuing to raise industry standards."

BioCote technology has a proven track record in the healthcare sector and is based on silver, which is a safe, natural antimicrobial, commonly used in wound dressings and surface-coated catheters to reduce the risk of infection. BioCote inhibits the growth of a wide range of bacteria on the surface of products, making them cleaner and more hygienic to use. BioCote Ltd works with a growing number of manufacturers supplying the food-processing sector to incorporate this cutting edge technology into their products at the manufacturing stage. Silver can be incorporated into a variety of materials including plastics, fabrics, paints, powder coatings and papers.