Effective Salmonella prevention and control starts with you. Vaccination programs, proper housing practices, litter and pest management solutions are all important tools that can help you significantly reduce loads earlier in the production cycle.
There are a number of factors that make controlling Salmonella in live poultry a difficult task. Chief among them is the long-standing perception that solutions implemented later in the production cycle, such as plant interventions, are capable of eliminating most of the risk associated with any potential threat.
“The plants do a tremendous job as our last line of defense, but too much Salmonella can definitely stress the effectiveness of their interventions,” says Scott Gustin, D.V.M., Director of Veterinary Services for Tyson Foods. “Live-side solutions can help us reduce that load earlier in the process so the entire burden doesn’t fall on them."
"Live interventions can help us keep a small problem from becoming a much larger one."
As a former hatchery manager, Jonathan Martin has seen how the priorities of the position can sometimes interfere with the big picture. Between incentive structures and typical day-to-day demands, Salmonella was rarely top of mind.
“Without question, performance was my primary focus,” says Martin. “Fortunately, I think today’s hatchery managers have a much better understanding of what they can do on a daily basis to have an impact on the final product.”
"Each phase really has to view their role as owning an equal piece of that food safety puzzle."
Vaccination programs
Proper housing techniques and practices
Pest management
Hatchery management
1(2016, March). Summary of recall cases in 2015. Food Safety and Inspection Service. <https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-summaries/recall-summaries-2015>.