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Research Project: Immunological and Practical Approaches to Manipulate the Ecological Niches and Reduce Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: AGPs impact on in poultry production: past, present, and future?

Author
item Kogut, Michael

Submitted to: Poultry Science Association Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2024
Publication Date: 10/8/2024
Citation: Kogut, M.H. 2024. AGPs impact on in poultry production: past, present, and future? [abstract]. In: Poultry Science Association Latin American Scientific Conference, Symposium: A comprehensive approach of combined preventive strategies to promote immunity, health, and profitability in poultry production, October 8-10, 2024, Iguazu Falls, Parana, Brazil. Paper No. 286S.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: For over 70 years, antibiotics were used for improving growth promotion in food-producing animals including poultry. However, increased antibiotic resistance in food animals has led to the complete ban on antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in animal feed by the European Union in 2006, subsequent FDA request for the voluntary removal of medically important AGPs from animal feed in the United States, and the global effort to reduce antibiotic usage in the livestock sector. Thus, research over the last decade has concentrated of development of acceptable alternatives to antibiotics (ATAs) that promote feed efficiency and food animal health while reducing the burden of foodborne disease. The majority of the commercially available ATAs are feed additives directed to improving the microbiota effects on the host animal productivity and reduction of infectious disease including the various biotics, exogenous feed enzymes, phytobiotics, and organic acids. However, for the future development of novel ATAs, an increased focus on the host and how it affects their microbiomes may be the focus. Hosts exert control over their microbiota through diverse mechanisms, including immunity, barrier function, physiological homeostasis, and transit. These mechanisms enable hosts to shape the ecology and evolution of microbiomes and generate a natural selection for microbial traits that benefit the host in a manner more similar to AGPs. Consequently, it is suggested that the host's abilities to regulate the microbiota can be leveraged to improve performance and prevent enteric infections.