Poultry Biosecurity Improvements for AI Control
We are well into the fall season, and after last week’s confirmation of H5N2 Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Minnesota now is a great time to assess and update your biosecurity program. Biosecurity is a series of management practices designed to prevent the introduction and spread of disease pathogens. Each piece of the program is important, and your defense against disease is only as strong as the weakest link.
Are you utilizing an effective entry-way pathogen control system at your Line of Separation? Foot pans containing an EPA registered disinfectant or sanitizer can be extremely effective if managed and monitored correctly. Are you able to verify the concentration of your chemical sanitizer or disinfectant? How frequently does it need to be replaced or replenished? Is it EPA registered and proven to kill the pathogens you are attempting to control? These are important considerations for ensuring each tool you use in your program is having the best impact possible for reducing cross-contamination and spread of disease.
Have you considered water quality and the water delivery system at your facility? Waterlines are an excellent harborage area for disease-causing pathogens. Supplements, water acidifiers, and medications are commonly administered via waterlines and can provide an ideal environment for mold, algae, bacteria and/or biofilm formation. A water testing and treatment program utilized in conjunction with line disinfection or sanitization between flocks can have a major impact on reducing contamination and disease in your facility. Again, utilizing products with EPA approved claims against relevant pathogens and biofilm* will offer the best protection.
Each piece of the program is important, and the success of the program relies on the weakest link. Annual biosecurity program assessment and updating based on new information, industry tools and technology is the best practice for ensuring a safe and sustainable facility, industry and food supply. For more information, visit http://www.poultryimprovement.org/documents/AuditGuidelines-BiosecurityPrinciples.pdf.
*Biofilm label claims approved for specific applications only. See product label for full label claims and usage instructions.
The food industry has been increasingly focused on a risk-based approach to food safety. Control of Listeria specifically, is always at the top of every list, as it poses the largest threat. “The pathogen’s recent influx in a variety of fresh, frozen and processed foods is reinforcing the importance of understanding how contamination occurs in processing plants.” (Mackin, 2018).
Part of raising healthy calves is maintaining a healthy environment, and feed sources that are free from pathogens that cause illness. A recent article published in Hoard’s Dairyman highlighted the risks of biofilm growth in calf feeding equipment.¹ When bacteria form a biofilm, they become resistant to many of the common methods used for sanitizing calf equipment, such as bleach dips. The surviving bacteria, harbored in a biofilm can then lead to an increase in scour days, reduced growth efficiency, and sometimes death.
Adam Borger of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Food Research Institute, spoke of the new guidance, saying, “I am a proponent of what the FDA is recommending in their draft guidance regarding sampling of food-contact surfaces for Listeria genus. I feel that giving food processors the ability to sample food-contact surfaces for Listeria genus without absolutely having to place all product on hold until the result is returned, will encourage a more aggressive sampling plan to find and eliminate Listeria and niches where the microbe may persist.” [2]
Sterilex Ultra Disinfectant Cleaner Solution 1 and Sterilex Ultra Activator Solution, or Ultra Soft Metal Activator, can also be used inside barns to disinfect between flocks. Following the removal of gross soils from the barn, the two-part solution is mixed, diluted in water, and either foamed or sprayed on surfaces.
As of Sept 2016, FSMA, the Food Safety Modernization Act is in full effect. For food manufacturers, the implications of reaching compliance, are immense. One of the key components of compliance is the requirement for preventative controls. Although this is a broad topic, it can be summarized in three sections, Hazard Analysis, development of preventative controls, and finally management of the preventative control protocols that have been created [1].
Proximity to farms introduces a number of risk factors for introduction of pathogens to processing environments. Whenever animal enclosures are present, anyone handling animals or coming into contact with animal waste can introduce microorganisms into processing environments by exchanging items between farm and processor. In addition, the movement of containers, transport vehicles, and employees between the processor and the individual barns can result in the rapid spread of transmittable diseases, affecting the animal populations. Through the exchange of farm and processing equipment, a single infected barn can result in the loss of all production animals housed on the grounds regardless of separate housing. Live production facilities can introduce disease to otherwise healthy incoming animals as well. Improper disinfection and insufficient biosecurity intervention between animal groups can result in transfer of disease through waterlines, feeding equipment, and general barn surfaces. Once introduced by even a single infected animal, these microorganisms can become a major problem—especially if they spread to other areas of the farm, or neighboring farms via feed trucks, suppliers, employees or any other traffic. With recent outbreaks of diseases such as Avian Influenza becoming both a high-profile issue and a very real threat (an AI outbreak can wipe out an entire flock very quickly, with devastating consequences to the farm’s business), farms with onsite processing facilities will want to take extra care to prevent the spread of microorganisms.
