
Device Protects Chickens From
Salmonella at HatchingBy Jill Lee November 12, 1998ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 12--A new device from
USDA researchers clears disease-causing
organisms from the air in poultry houses, protecting chicks the moment they
hatch, Deputy Agriculture Secretary
Richard
Rominger said here today at the opening of a two-day
National
Conference on Food Safety Research. "American consumers expect healthful, quality food," said
Rominger. "Our meat and poultry are fundamentally safer, thanks to
cutting-edge research like this that systematically seeks out and destroys
sources of contamination." Rominger said the USDA researchers recently applied for a patent on their
system that uses a negative electrostatic charge to collect dust particles in
hatching cabinets. Airborne particles often give Salmonella bacteria a free ride to
chicks' feathers and lungs. One infected chick can quickly spread the bacteria
throughout an entire hatching cabinet. That increases the risk of
Salmonella for consumers as adult birds are grown for food. The new instrument collects charged dust from the air and deposits it onto
plates that are automatically rinsed several times an hour. "In separate laboratory tests by USDA researchers, this tool reduced
Salmonella by 95 percent in week-old birds and in egg-laying hens,"
Rominger said. "It appeared to have similar effects when tested in
commercial hatching cabinets." The electrostatic approach may also control Salmonella spread. In
other experiments with Salmonella-infected chicks, it reduced airborne
transmission by 99 percent. But the system may offer even more protection:
preliminary swab tests with the laying hens seem to show the charge kills
bacteria outright. Mandated by Congress, the Nov. 12-13 conference at the Ramada Plaza Old Town
serves as a national forum on food safety. Attendance is free and open to the
public. About 30 scientists, regulatory agency personnel and policy makers are
discussing future food safety research priorities in university and federal
laboratories. The conference is co-sponsored by USDA's
Agricultural Research Service and
Cooperative State Research, Education and
Extension Service. The poultry research Rominger cited is just one example of recent findings
on food safety. The air-cleaning system was developed by ARS agricultural engineer
Bailey
Mitchell and veterinarian Henry Stone. They are based at the agency's
Southeast
Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, Ga. Mitchell explained how the device could also improve farmers' profits.
Recent test results suggest it may increase the number of chicks hatched by an
average of 1 percent. Eggs that result in healthy chicks earn farmers a
"hatchability bonus." "Multiply that 1 percent increase by the millions of eggs these farmers
sell in a week and you see the potential for increased profit," Mitchell
said. "We've already gotten several calls from companies interested in
licensing the patent or installing systems in hatcheries." Scientific contact: Bailey
Mitchell, ARS
Southeast
Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, Ga., phone (706) 546-3443, fax (706)
546-3161, [email protected]. Story contacts Poultry Research Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory Bailey W Mitchell U.S. Department of Agriculture | |