New research out of Denmark has shown that the use of fly screens in chicken coops can reduce the amount of Camplyobacter bacteria in these environments. Campylobacter is the leading cause of intestinal disease in humans in the European Union, according to the European Food Safety Authority, and 20 to 30 percent of these cases… Continue Reading
Feeding chickens a mixture of plant-based oils in their water may become an effective method of reducing Salmonella contamination in chicken products, according to experimental studies by researchers at the University of Georgia in Griffin. The studies, published in the journals Food Control and Poultry Science, found that an essential oil treatment significantly reduced the… Continue Reading
Opinion
Salmonella is a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular pathogen that is capable of causing gastroenteritis and typhoid fever in the affected host. Salmonella infections are reported as the second leading cause of foodborne illnesses in the United States. Salmonella has the potential to cause fatal bacterial infections in infants, the elderly and individuals with a suppressed immune… Continue Reading
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted an additional 10 cases of Salmonella Montevideo linked to live poultry since last month, bringing the new case count to 76 people across 22 states. Of those ill, 17 have been hospitalized. The live birds originated at Estes Hatchery, a mail-order hatchery in Springfield, Missouri…. Continue Reading
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley Tuesday signed a bill banning arsenic in poultry feed, making his state the first to have a law against the practice on the books. The new law, which takes effect Jan 1, prohibits the use, sale, or distribution of commercial feed containing arsenic and specifically mentions two Pfizer drugs that… Continue Reading
The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers — who, by all accounts, are strange bedfellows — announced Monday strong support for H.R. 3798, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, which was introduced this week by Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Sam Farr (D-CA), and Jeff Denham… Continue Reading
As of Jan. 1, 2012, egg-laying hens across many European countries will live with fewer discomforts: The European Commission has officially implemented its ban on battery cages, the notoriously cramped cages used by many egg farmers and criticized by animal rights proponents and veterinarians who call them cruel and harmful to the birds’ welfare. The… Continue Reading
Major livestock groups are urging Congress to reject the historic deal struck between the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the United Egg Producers (UEP) on egg production, but egg producers are not backing down. UEP, which represents 87 percent of domestic egg production, and HSUS are jointly petitioning Congress to create national… Continue Reading
A year ago, the national media, spurred on by information from activists organizations, were quick to paint the recall of more than a half billion shell eggs as the work of just one man –agricultural business baron Jack DeCoster, who has had one regulatory run-in after another in the multiple states where he operates. DeCoster… Continue Reading
The recent deal between the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the United Egg Producers (UEP), more commonly known as adversaries, to improve egg-laying hens’ living conditions struck many as surprising, for many different reasons. As reported earlier, cattle and pork producers are not pleased about the agreement, with the National Pork Producer’s… Continue Reading