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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #121421
Title: CARBOHYDRATE BASED COCKTAILS THAT DECREASE THE POPULATION OF SALMONELLA AND CAMPYLOBACTER IN THE CROP OF BOILER CHICKENS SUBJECTED TO FEED WITHDRAWAL

Author
item Hinton Jr, Arthur
item Buhr, Richard - Jeff
item Ingram, Kimberly

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2002
Publication Date: 6/1/2002
Citation: HINTON JR, A., BUHR, R.J., INGRAM, K.D. CARBOHYDRATE BASED COCKTAILS THAT DECREASE THE POPULATION OF SALMONELLA AND CAMPYLOBACTER IN THE CROP OF BOILER CHICKENS SUBJECTED TO FEED WITHDRAWAL. JOURNAL OF POULTRY SCIENCE. 2002.

Interpretive Summary: The ability of a sugar-based drink to reduce the number of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract of chickens that were denied access to feed was studied. Feed was removed from the chicken pens, and the chickens were provided either water or drinks containing table sugar (sucrose) or corn sugar (glucose). Chickens were then taken to a poultry processing facility. After processing, a portion of the digestive tract was removed from the carcasses for analyses. The weight and acidity of the digestive tract samples were measured, and the number of bacteria in the samples was determined. Findings indicated that fewer harmful bacteria were recovered from chickens provided the sucrose drinks than from chickens provided water or glucose drinks. Samples from chickens provided drinks containing either sugar were more acidic than samples from chickens that had been provided water, but there was no difference in the weights of the samples from the different groups. Drinks containing 4 per cent table sugar were more effective than drinks containing more or less sugar in reducing the number of harmful bacteria recovered. Findings indicated providing chickens a drink containing table sugar before transporting the chickens to processing plants may reduce the level of contamination of poultry products by bacteria that cause human foodborne diseases.

Technical Abstract: The efficacy of various carbohydrate based cocktails in reducing the number of enteropathogens in the crops of broilers subjected to feed withdrawal was examined. Market aged broilers that had been orally challenged with S. typhimurium were provided the cocktails during a 12 h feed withdrawal period. After feed withdrawal the broilers were processed, and their crops were aseptically removed and weighed. Crops were then blended in distilled water, and the pH of the suspensions were measured electronically. Populations of S. typhimurium, Campylobacter, and lactic acid bacteria in the crop suspensions were enumerated. Findings indicated that cocktails supplemented with sucrose reduced the populations of S. typhimurium and Campylobacter to significantly lower levels than cocktails supplemented with equal concentrations (w/v) glucose. Providing broilers cocktails supplemented with 2 to 10% sucrose during feed withdrawal caused significant reductions in the number of S. typhimurium recovered from their crops. The pH of the crop contents of broilers provided carbohydrate cocktails were lower than the pH of the crops of broilers provided water or cocktails that were not supplemented with carbohydrates. Consumption of the cocktails did not produce significant changes in the crop weights. Findings indicate that altering the composition of carbohydrate based cocktails provided to broilers during feed withdrawal may affect the efficacy of cocktails in reducing the number of enteropathogens recovered from the crop of broilers.