There is a growing swell of concern about the use of antibiotics in the poultry and meat industry. The January 2013 International Production & Processing Expo included an Antibiotic Conference that focused on "Current Issues for the Poultry & Egg Industry."

A February release from the US Poultry & Egg Association stated that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with its plan to limit use of medically important antimicrobial drugs to those considered necessary for assuring animal health. Regulatory changes are partly responsible for the growing interest in alternatives to intensive antibiotic use in the poultry industry.

In June 2012, Consumer Reports reported that "Approximately 80 per cent of all antibiotics (approximately 29 million pounds) sold in the US are used by the meat and poultry industry to make animals grow faster or to prevent disease in crowded and unsanitary conditions."

PBS reports that "Concern about the growing level of drug-resistant bacteria has led to the banning of sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics in meat animals in many countries in the European Union and Canada. In the US, such use is still legal. The World Health Organization is concerned enough about antibiotic resistance to declare their intention of reducing “the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in food animals for the protection of human health."

Salmogenics improves the immune system, resulting in a healthier chicken. This "green" vaccine contains natural organisms that are not genetically modified. It stimulates an immune response in chickens produced from inoculated eggs to several intestinal pathogenic organisms that include various Salmonella strains.

Dr Mehran Ghazvini, Chairman and CEO, stated: "Test results to date have shown that Salmogenics produces healthier chickens that have increased body weight and may reduce the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials that have been proven to be detrimental to human consumption. The vaccine to prevent Marek’s disease revolutionized the economics of the poultry industry. Because of the multiple advantages of Salmogenics, we are confident that this vaccine could also have similar economic benefits to the industry."

Salmogenics is in the final stage of testing and trials before the final US Department of Agriculture/Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS) approval for its commercial application.

Further Reading Find out more information on Marek's disease by clicking here.