ARS | Publication request: Pre-Harvest Measures to Control Salmonella in Layers

Submitted to: Improving Egg and Egg Product Safety and Quality
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: April 1, 2010
Publication Date: October 11, 2011
Citation: Gast, R.K. 2011. Pre-Harvest Measures to Control Salmonella in Layers. Improving Egg and Egg Product Safety and Quality. Cambridge, UK: Flip Van Immerseel, Yves Nys, and Maureen Bain, eds. Woodhead Publishing. (2):120-145.

Technical Abstract: One of the principal recurring themes during the search for effective responses to the continuing public health and economic problems caused by Salmonella contamination of eggs has concerned reducing the susceptibility of egg-laying chickens to infection. Decreasing the overall prevalence or level of Salmonella infection among commercial laying flocks has the potential to exert a corresponding influence on the likelihood that contaminated eggs will be produced and marketed. This chapter considers both the capabilities and limitations of three leading options for reducing the susceptibility of laying hens to Salmonella: vaccination to induce immunity, genetic selection for naturally occurring resistance to infection, and gastrointestinal colonization control.