IPSF: Controlling Salmonella in Poultry Plants

US - Research at the University of Auburn in Alabama USA has shown that sealing walls and floors in poultry processing plants with an antimicrobial sealant has a dramatic effect in reducing the presence of salmonella.
calendar icon 27 January 2009
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The research paper presented to the International Poultry Science Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday showed that antimicrobial screens have a beneficial effect in reducing the salmonella pathogens, and can help poultry plants meet the necessary food safety levels under the US regulations, writes ThePoultrySite Senior Editor, Chris Harris.

However, delivering the paper, Diego Moreiva Paiva, said that the microbial sealants should not be substituted for good sanitation practices and "nor should it be utilized as an isolated measure to control bacterial colonization on concrete surfaces".

Mr Paiva spelt out that Salmonella is an important foodborne pathogen often associated with poultry and highly prevalent in poultry processing plants.

He said that 40,000 cases of salmonella poisoning were reported in the US last year and that this was probably not the true extent of the problem because a vast number of cases were not officially reported.

The study looked at the effect one particular sealant had on salmonella on concrete blocks - Biosealed for Concrete.

It looked at the effect it had on the five major salmonella strains that are recorded in food poisoning incidents - S. Enteriditis, S. Kentucky, S. Typhimurium, S.Seftenberg and S. Heidelberg.

The salmonella was smeared on the surface of concrete blocks and injected into the blocks. At varying times in the test the blocks were treated with the microbial sealant.

Mr Paiva said that the research was interested in discovering whether and how quickly a biofilm of the pathogen covered the blocks.

He added that the capillary action of the structure of the concrete also meant that the salmonella could impregnate deep into the blocks.

He said the results proved to be significant for public health and also significant for the industry looking for a method to control salmonella biofilms.

The most effective method of controlling the pathogen was by treating the concrete before in was infected with the pathogen and also before and after it was infected.

"Biosealed is a potent antimicrobial that shows an immediate response," he said.

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