Wheat product effective against mycoplasma

A group of researchers in Hungary has tested the efficacy of fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE) in chickens challenged with mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). They found that fermented wheat germ extract was as effective against MG as the well known anti mycoplasma drug, tiamulin. Fermented wheat germ extract is a standardised extract of wheat fermented by the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Immunovet-HBM, Biomedicin Co. Ltd, Hungary). The...

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Test on a new anti-aflatoxin agent

Silymarin, the standardised extract of Silybum marianum, is used as a liver protector in man, and is a potent anti-hepatotoxic agent. This study, carried out by a group of Italian scientist, focused on assessing the effect of a silymarin-phospholipid complex (silymarin phytosome; Sil) on the toxic effect of aflatoxin B1 in a small group of broiler chickens. Over the whole growth cycle, bodyweight gain and feed intake were...

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Poultry campylobacter source found in lungs

The source of campylobacter on poultry farms and in processing plants is probably the birds lungs, according to the latest research. The bacteria can contaminate live chickens during production or transport, or catcasses during scalding. In either case, campylobacter moves to contaminate respiratory air sacs and could then contaminate the abdominal cavity. Microbiologist studied campylobacter before and after chicken carcasses...

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Understanding campylobacter in turkeys

Scientist in ARS’s are helping to make meals worry-free for people who enjoy turkey. The unit part continues to break new ground in protecting consumers against harmful food-borne bacteria like campylobacter. A breaktrough is on the horizon, through research by molecular microbiologist using competitive exclusion. Competitive exclusion is a benficial intestinal bacterium’s protective effect that limits colonisation by some...

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In-shell vaccine for chick disease

Scientist in the UK are developing a new way to vaccinate chicks against infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) while they are still in their egg. A pre-hatching prototype vaccine virus which provides immunity to IBV has been developed by scientist at the Institute for Animal Health and vaccine company, intervet UK. It can be delivered to chicks still in the egg (in-ovo) using robotic ‘vaccinator’. The researchers, funded by...

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Cool water washing slows egg pathogens

Using cold water instead of warm during a second wash of eggs can help cooling, which reduces the risk of pathogen growth both inside and outside the shell. Researchers with the US Department of Agriculture together with those from Auburn University studied the frequency of salmonella, campylobacter, listeria and other pathogens in eggs commercially washed in cool water. Their findings were reported . The researchers tested...

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Test to distinguish between battery and free range eggs without visiting the farm

Scientists have developed a method of determining whether eggs labelled as ‘free range’ or ‘barn’ have, in fact, been laid under battery conditions. The procedure, published in Journal of the science of food and agriculture, means eggs can be tested without the need to visit farms. The give-away is the dust that the eggs pick up from the surface on which they are laid. Because the eggs are wet when freshly laid, the dust...

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