Salmonella and eggs from production to plate

poultrydigestJune/July 2015

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PIX and AMC conference to be held in May 2016

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Page 10: Potters Poultry, leading supplier of cage free poultry equipment in the UK by Peter Bedwell

Page 44: Salmonella and eggs: from production to plate (Part 2).by Harriet Whiley and Kirstin Ross

Page 4: PIX and AMC conference to be held in May 2016

Page 6: Baiada implements recommendations by Fair Work Ombudsman over foreign workers

Page 20: 2015 Turkey Conference held at Albury

Page 28: Senior executive changes annoounced at ACMF

Volume 30, Number 6

Justin and Olivia Potter with Antony Taylor from Potters Poultry.

New ProductsPage 34: New research reducing litter beetle populationsPage 36: Novus launches Cibenza DP 100 in AustraliaPage 38: New Rotem Communicator offered by Technical Services Australia

NEWS

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PIX and AMC conference to be held May 29-31, 2016

ACCC welcomes funding

The PIX/AMC 2016 Conference will be held once again at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from Sunday May 29 to Tuesday May 31, 2016.

The main theme for the event is ‘Sustainability – Key concepts for our future’.

For all those potential exhibitors, sponsors or visitors full details will be available on the PIX/AMC website at www.pixamc.com.au/

PIX Organising Committee President Peter Mathews and Managing Director of Australian Agricultural Services (AAS) when speaking to Poultry Digest at his Redland Bay Queensland offices, stated that the International and Conference Events (ICE) organisation had been appointed as the event manager. The company’s details are available on the PIX/AMC website.

“The program for the 27th PIX event will again feature three days filled with the latest innovation and information, with knowledgeable industry personnel from both Australia and overseas attending,” said Peter.

“The program is streamed into chicken meat, egg production, free range and organic farming, flour milling and feed milling as well as feeds for other species, so there will be topics of interest for each and every delegate.

“Workshops on numerous special interest areas encompassing all aspects of the poultry industry will also be on offer.

“For the more technically minded, the Australian Veterinary Poultry association (AVPA) will again be holding a scientific meeting the day after PIX/AMC ends.

“As always a highlight of the conference will be the trade display area which is the industry’s largest display venue.

“With more than 200 booths, exhibitors will be on hand to demonstrate their latest products and equipment.

“A new feature for 2016 will be the availability of private meeting rooms allowing exhibitors and delegates to discuss and finalise matters in privacy and comfort.

“The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre is a world class venue and coupled with the exciting social

program planned with the conference, allowing for relaxed discussion opportunities and a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues.

“We have again chosen the Gold Coast in May for the usually favourable weather and huge variety of accommodation options and co-curricular entertainment that is available for all ages in the region.

“PIX/AMC 2016 is the most important poultry and milling industry event in the region for the 2016 calendar year and we look forward to your support and attendance,” Peter said.

“The Australasian Asian Milling Conference (AMC) is the leading conference for feed and flour millers held biannually in Australia.

“AMC 2016, is to be the 14th conference and will draw delegates from Australia, New Zealand and countries in the South pacific and SE Asia.

“There will be more than 350 delegates from flour and feed milling companies as well as many service providers,” the organisers revealed.

AMC is an initiative of The Australian Technical Millers Association (ATMA), Feed Ingredients and additives Association of Australia (FIAAA) and The Stock Feed Manufacturers’ Council of Australia (SFMCA).

For the 2016 PIX/AMC Conference Internation Conference Events (ICE) based in Surry Hills Sydney have been chosen as the organisers.

The key contact is Karen Redfern – Karen@iceaustralia.com and the phone number is 02 9368 1200.

Above: Peter Mathews, AAS – PIX Organising Committee President.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to provide increased resources to boost its engagement with rural and regional industries, small businesses and consumers.

The Government has indicated its plans to implement policy outlined in the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper, including allocating $11.4 million over four years to establish an Agricultural Enforcement and Engagement Unit with additional staff to conduct investigations and engagement in rural and regional areas.

“The ACCC will prioritise detecting, deterring and taking action against conduct that breaches theCompetition and Consumer Act (2010) (CCA) that affects farmers and small businesses in rural and regional areas, particularly cartels, misuse of market power, and misleading or unconscionable conduct,” Acting Chair Delia Rickard said.

“The ACCC will strengthen its engagement with agricultural industries to understand factors effecting competition in rural and regional markets. This will also enable the ACCC to better explain its decisions to farmers and regional small businesses.”

“Through the collective bargaining authorisation process, the ACCC has a long record of strengthening the position of growers and processers across a range of sectors including dairy, poultry, vegetables and seafood.

“The ACCC has long recognised the importance of the agriculture sector to the Australian economy and understands that there are unique and challenging circumstances affecting industry participants.

“We will continue to promote potential pro-competitive strategies to enhance efficiencies and bolster productivity, such as collective bargaining by regional and rural businesses,” Ms Rickard said.

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A long running campaign by the Meat Workers Union over working conditions for foreign workers on the 215 visa working in Baiada processing facilities has resulted in the Fair Work ombudsman issuing a report on the matter.

The case dates back to early 2014 and featured numerous media reports in print and was a key component of an ABC 4 Corners TV program in early May 2015.

Apart from the ombudsman’s report Coles, which is supplied chicken products by Baiada, recently announced that it would conduct audits to ensure that they and other suppliers complied with acceptable work practices.

The company has engaged Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to conduct these audits but has not revealed when this process will be finalised or what action Coles will take when the results of these audits become available.

One of the difficulties faced by all parties in this matter is that workers conditions for those on 215 visas, an option for regional workers who typically may be foreign students allowed to work for a period in rural industries, as well as study in Australia and in some areas are open to interpretation.

Though government authorities expect that workers are treated in a manner that recognises award payments and work conditions, there are situations such as providing accommodation and other services, which have allowed sub contract labour suppliers to employ work practices that have been critisised by both unions and the ombudsman.

A report from the ABC called ‘Ombudsman confirms exploitation of chicken workers’ (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-17/foreign-workers-exploited-at-baiada-plant-investigation-reveals/6554570) said:

“The Fair Work Ombudsman has slammed one of Australia’s largest poultry processors over employment practices at three New South Wales factories.

“An inquiry into Baiada was launched in 2013 after foreign workers complained they were underpaid, overworked and living in overcrowded

unsafe accommodation.”Ombudsman Natalie James said her

findings confirm a labour pool on 417 visas were exploited by the company and its contractors.

“We identified some 39 contractors involved in the labour supply,” she said.

“In relation to those contractors, we found significant underpayments, mostly exploitation of visa-holders who were not being paid what they were entitled to.

“They were working extremely long hours.

“Many of them were too scared to lodge formal complaints.”

Baiada said it is deeply concerned by the poor treatment of workers by contractors, and has already implemented most of the Ombudsman’s recommendations.

But Grant Courtney, from the Meat Workers Union, said the Ombudsman did not go far enough.

“You would think after nearly two years of an investigation, the ombudsmen being in the compliance position that it is should have prosecuted some of the sham contracting companies and should also be targeting Baiada in relation to allowing these practices to go on their site,” he said, according to the ABC Rural report.

The case bought against Baiada was not helped by the blaze of publicity created by intense media coverage both in local press and on national television.

Despite the coverage on 4 Corners, though unions were predictably quick to get involved, the government which actually runs the visa schemes under which foreign students and others, enter the workforce, were conspicuously silent on the issue.

Could the fact that the government is trying to get through regulations that allow Chinese workers involved with that country’s developments, (including in agriculture) worth over $150 million, to work in Australia as part of the recently negotiated trade negotiations, be a factor?

Certainly numerous interviews between media and government over the new China trade deal labour issues have demonstrated that there is little real control over the fact that Chinese

Baiada implements recommendations by Fair Work Ombudsman over foreign workers

interests are allowed to hire their own work force instead of using Australian labour working to award conditions.

The tests to make sure that workers with the skills necessary to work on developments could be circumvented, critics such as unions claim.

Ged Carney, head of the ACTU in an interview with Fran Kelly of ABC Radio National had this to say:

“Workers from China can come under temporary work visas just about in any category and will not be subject to labour market testing… Projects worth $150 million or more can actually bring in labour from China with lower level English, with lower skills and they can, in fact, be used to implement those projects… If you can bring an entire workforce in to build that building from another country then you immediately lock out Australian workers,” said Ged Carney in the interview dated June 18, 2015.

There is an electronic news and current affairs journal called ‘The Conversation’. It is staffed and run by some of the best journalists who have access to some of the best minds in Australia and beyond.

They have taken up the challenge of fact checking the claims of the ACTU chief: here is the link to the detailed analysis and we leave it to you to learn more about the intricacies of the issue.

http://theconversation.com/factcheck-could-the-china-australia-fta-lock-out-australian-workers-43470

To advertise in Poultry Digest contact

Pete Bedwell on 02 9797 2406 or 0419 235 288.

Please note our address is now

250 Hawthorne Parade, Haberfield NSW 2045Email: primarymedia@

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Potters Poultry, leading supplier of cage free poultry equipment in the UK

By PETER BEDWELL

popular in the UK (where 50% of layer production is now cage-free) the company has spread its wings into Europe, Asia and recently even the US –all markets where caged systems have dominated production for a long period.

The aviary systems that Potters sell today, like those inspected on the company’s own rearing facility and a customer’s nearby free range farm, have been developed over a 25 year period with the aim of making bird management as easy as possible for the farmer in a cage-free environment favoured by retail and consumers.

“Basically we are looking at two opportunities for our new multi tier aviary systems. The first is obviously a new installation or conversion from cage to free range/barn and the second is a move from flat deck free range/barn to our more efficient multi-tier system,” explained Justin Potter.

“Multi-tier aviary systems allows the birds to replicate their natural behaviours within a system like moving around, climbing, perching and dust bathing, while also providing easily

10,000 hen shed complies with Freedom Food code.

P otters Poultry, while only in the

last seven years having established its presence in Australia, has been manufacturing poultry shed equipment for over half a century in the UK.

The company’s history dates back to the 1930s when William Potter and his sonsstarted a pullet rearing business which still operates today in the hands of a third generation of the Potter family.

Antony Taylor, Potters Sales and Marketing Director made a visit to Australia to attend the recent AECL

Forum in Adelaide with Mike Button.Poultry Digest was invited to visit

Potters’ head office, one of their rearing farms and a nearby free range operation equipped with the company’s latest multi-tier aviary system.

Olivia and Justin Potter, the hands on Directors of the company and Antony Taylor gave Poultry Digest a briefing on the history and latest products being sold by the growing family enterprise.

Obviously being involved with pullet rearing for some time before starting layer shed equipment design and manufacture, gave Potters a clear advantage in building and supplying equipment relevant to the needs of a growing and changing industry.

In the fifty years that Potters has been selling its equipment, an industry that grew with a large free range element has now through consumer and retail demand, returned to cage-free rearing methods – for Potters it’s a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Not only is its aviary system w

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1. LtoR: Justin Potter, Olivia Potter and Antony Taylor with Potters’ nest sytem demo unit. 2. Justin and Olivia Potter with the multi-tier system. 3. Shed control system – 50 years of tradition but 21st Century technology. 4. Farm Manager Gavin Creasey with Antony Taylor. 5. Supplimentary solar power and smart chimney fans.

accessible food and water.“The multi-tier system results in

more contented and productive flocks.“As a result of a more active

lifestyle, the birds are healthier displaying less stress levels and there is reduced feather pecking.

“The environment replicates a natural habitat by allowing birds to access it at numerous levels.

“Movement is encouraged by feed and water being available at a number a levels within the system,” Olivia explained.

“This greater activity within the house does not result in an increased risk of injury, as long as the design parameters are established by experts in the field.

“The key to success is to provide sufficient perching at a number of levels that accommodates the flock, but minimises the distances between the tiers. This feature reduces flight needs and logically the incidence of injury.

“Attention to design detail achieves the necessary balance.

“Multi-tier aviary systems appear to reduce flock stress levels by allowing natural behaviours and consequently the birds seem less likely to scatter when human intervention occurs.

“As birds become more relaxed about human presence in their environment it becomes easier to perform necessary management functions and welfare activity with minimum disruption to feeding or laying. Recently conducted EU studies have recorded this reduced human avoidance behavior,” Olivia said.

“Better air and litter quality in a multi-tier aviary system contribute to improved bird health. The manure falls on to a belt system which can be operated as frequently as required (every second day seems to be a typical practice)

“This is undoubtedly better for the housing environment than only clearing out manure at the end of cycle which has been a traditional practice.

“Regularly moving manure out of the shed also reduces the incidence of pests such as flies, mites and vermin, thus keeping the environment fresher, cleaner and better for the hens than in many conventional flat deck systems,” said Olivia.

On the topic of producer benefits Justin points out that “multi-tier aviary structures are relatively simple structures.

“The Potters’ systems are cantilevered off a central support pillar which results in an easy access to the whole system.

“This makes cleaning and crucially, maintenance and servicing, a whole lot easier than in other systems that are not

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LEADING SUPPLIERS OF CAGE FREE POULTRY EQUIPMENT

www.potterspoultry.com

Long life, strong and stable Flexible design - maximises stocking density

Australasian Agricultural Services,18 Lennox Street, Redlands Business Park,

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NEWSdesigned around a central support pillar.

“It also means that the design of the Potters’ aviary systems are adaptable to a greater variety of building configurations – be they new build or refurbishment projects.

“At the design stage we carefully position all elements of the shed to reinforce the natural behaviour patterns of a flock.

“With the Potters open aviary the nest boxes and water lines will run down the centre of the shed with feeding and perching areas on either side.

“Alternatively, with our integrated aviary, the nests can be integrated into the system in a way that best suits management practice and housing situations.

“Drinker lines are up on the tiers, ensuring birds have easy access to water, and ideally, they should be able to have a direct line of sight from drinkers to nest boxes, thus reinforcing natural behaviours, laying eggs in the boxes.

“This results in minimal floor eggs – 1% being typical in a Potters’ system – the use of graduated lighting helps to train the birds and reinforce desirable laying patterns.

“A multi-tier aviary system means that more birds can be stocked in a house because of the increased amount of usable surface area available on the different levels.

“There has been a recent example where we supplied a producer with an open aviary system, converting 2 x 9300 sheds to a 32,000 overall bird housed operation without the need for further planning permission or any shed extension.

“This obviously makes a farm more efficient delivering a faster return on investment and reduced fixed overhead costs per bird,” said Justin.

“An advantage of increased bird numbers in cold weather is that each bird expends less energy to keep warm than in conventional systems, providing shed insulation is effective,” Olivia commented.

“The volume of birds creates a warmer and more comfortable environment. This means that in colder conditions feed savings are possible – up to 15-20 grams per bird per day, in fact.”

“Long term reliability of these multi tiers systems is another key benefit for producers as well as their ease of operation,” Justin added.

“The incorporation of modern

technology into their design allows for a far higher degree of management control than could ever have been achieved in previous eras of layer farming.

“The measurement and monitoring functions essential to good management of flocks has been automated and computerised with data analysis available at the push of a button. Management decisions are easily implemented even by remote control if required.

“Though these control systems can be adapted to flat deck systems, traditionally these older alternatives feature manual management.

“Close monitoring allows producers to respond instantly to any changes required to feed rations and to take corrective action to remedy or avoid any potential problems.

“All aspects of the shed environment including light, ventilation,

Top: Diagram showing Potters multi-tier aviary system. Above: Well protected range trees have been planted to provide shelter for the birds on the free range farm.

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pop-hole access, can be controlled from a central panel.

“Recommended lighting patterns encourage birds to use different parts of the system throughout the day.

“At first light a glow from the nest boxes encourages birds to lay in them, followed by a transfer of light to the feeders and water lines leads to a move to these areas and then to the roosts.

“Establishing these routines plays a critical part of reducing floor eggs,” Olivia stated.

“The consumer demand for free range eggs in many of our markets including Australia, is ever increasing and multi-tier aviary systems allows layer industries to keep up with that demand,” said Justin.

“In considering the options of either refitting an existing shed, or building a completely new unit, by using multi tier aviary systems housing size is kept to a minimum which delivers both

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Highly effective againstAvian Influenza including H7

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Above: Potters’ multi-tier aviary system with improved access to the upper tiers for the hens.

NEWSenvironmental and financial benefits.

“Finally, a production system innovation, initially driven by EU legislation has resulted in a benefit to the birds, the producer, and last but not least, the consumer,” Olivia concluded.

After a briefing at the company headquarters we visited one of the company pullet rearing facilities.

In the UK, poultry housing is typically timber clad but this traditional appearance does not mean that the equipment or approach to rearing is anything less than state of the art 21st Century.

Obviously the multi-tier aviary system in the shed is of Potters’ latest design but that’s not where the technology ends.

Solar panels and advanced power management systems are just as up to the mark as the shed environment controls – you would expect nothing less.

From there Antony Taylor took us to a nearby recently completed free range farm near the historic town of Market Harborough.

Given the concentration of both people and industry in the midlands of the UK it is amazing that there is still so much ‘green and pleasant land’.

Richard Morris’s farm is certainly a picture of rural splendor. His farm is a new entrant to free range and is a state of the art operation in every respect.

The two shed operation completed in 2014 and equipped with Potter’s latest open aviary tier system houses 10,000 birds from Potters in each shed.

The extensive range areas comply with Freedom Foods codes of 2000 birds per hectare.

Stocking density inside the sheds is permitted to be up to nine birds per square metre.

We met the Farm Manager Gavin Creasey. Prior to taking over the new free range operation Gavin worked at the Moy Park poultry operation as a broiler breeder manager.

Moy Park is a huge operation that encompasses free range broiler, layer and organic operations and is famous in the UK food industry.

The farm had taken delivery of its first flocks from Potters in November 2014 and at 47 weeks the Hy-Line Brown birds were performing above target parameters.

“Attention to detail has been a key factor in getting the best performance out of the sheds and our equipment,” Antony pointed out.

“Mortality levels are only 1.76% while egg production is 183.2 which is

6.5% above breed standard.“Production percentage per hen day

is at 94.08 % which is well above a set target of 89%,” Antony explained.

The sheds are equipped with advanced climate control systems including computer controlled chimney fans and like many farms in the UK feature solar panels and inverter feed-in controls.

Poultry Digest visited the farm in late May at the height of the UK Spring growing period and after the usual English rain coupled with warm weather in previous weeks the grass was virtually leaping out of the ground!

With a stocking density on range areas of 2500 birds per hectare, free range layer farms complying with either of the two most popular codes, BFREPA or the RSPCA Audited ‘Freedom Foods’ regime do require quite a lot of land.

On an overcast cool day plenty of birds seemed happy to explore their range while others were happy with the comfort of the shed.

Range management is an important aspect of running the operation with the lush UK climate in late spring helping to keep the paddocks in top condition.

It must be emphasised that free range layer farms in the UK operate to established parameters which allows them to design their farms with some certainty as to operation in the future.

This contrasts with the situation in Australia where protocols seem to be set by the often contradictory attitudes

of regulators, supermarkets and other parties including extreme animal liberationalists.

For Australian producers shed equipment systems like those manufactured by Potters Poultry offer options that can be adapted to changing circumstances.

The drive to cage-free in Australia would dictate either free range or barn laid (a concept not particularly well understood by consumers).

Should Australian growers opt for a Potters system for free range it could easily be adapted to cage-free if regulators succeed in imposing ridiculously low levels of range stocking density.

Should common sense prevail, such a system could be easily expanded for larger bird populations.

If as we may hope, more reasonable levels of range stocking density emerge, then technologically advanced multi-tier aviary systems like those supplied by Potters Poultry are obviously an ideal approach for commercially viable and welfare friendly layer farming.

Australian Agricultural Suupplies (AAS) of Brisbane is the Australian and NZ agent for Potters Poultry.

Poultry Digest would like to thank Olivia and Justin Potter and Antony Taylor at Potters Poultry and farm owner Richard Morris and Farm Manager Gavin Creasey for their help in producing this report.

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The 2015 Australasian Turkey Conference was held from July 3 to 5, at The Lake Hume Resort in Albury.

The sponsors were AusPac, Alltech, BEC, Jet Pets, ProWash, Ridley, Scolexia and Zoetis.

The organisers would also like to thank the following South Australian wineries for their contribution to the Conference dinner: Wirrega Vineyards, Wangolina Vineyards, Henry’s Drive Vineyard, Doc Adams Vineyard and Mason Vineyard.

Ray Lee from the NSW Farmers Federation spoke on the topic of ‘Food for Thought – Items of importance to the poultry industry.

He said the threats to the industry included importation, animal welfare, rural planning and the RSPCA.

“Unfortunately there can often be friction between the growers and processors. The industry cannot move forward if the two cannot work together to grow.

“From consumers, there is definitely a demand for increased production. For NSW broiler production, Tamworth and Griffith are areas for growth. There are new farms going in and new processing plants, as well as a rendering plant.

“The opportunities are there and are massive,” he said.

“Unfortunately there is a still a stigma with large scale production. This applies to free range eggs in particular with the demand for 1500 birds per hectare.

“Some associations are trying to promote 2500 birds per hectare and State Ministers have come together to demand a national standard by 2016, firstly with the egg industry.

“NFF is the national body and the plan is to have all the states come under the same office/group. The biggest concern is that the industry has not promoted itself in the best possible way.”

Colin Quast from Quast Turkeys talked about industry issues.

“The Department of Agriculture has begun looking at the submission for the importation of cooked turkey meat into Australia,” he said.

“Dr Peter Scott, who has been engaged to represent the Federation, will put forward a submission on behalf of the Australian Turkey Federation, when they are called.

“The industry has a lot to thank Peter Scott for,” said Colin.

“The initial notice was mentioned

NEWS2015 Turkey Conference held at Albury

12 months ago and Dr Scott was commissioned to represent the industry. The minister of Agriculture Barnaby Joyce as begun discussions with DAFF. The minister is aware of the situation and has been in discussions with the Turkey Federation.

Lachlan Dick from New Zealand Meat addressed the issue of imports.

“The first version of the NZ turkey meat import health standards was released in June 2011 to cover the threat of imported meat from the USA.

The main problem with imported products is the misleading labels,” he said. Labels like ‘Contains local and imported products’ does not address the problem.

“The document is structured so that well before the poultry is hatched it will have status for import eligibility, and the eligibility has to continue successfully through the whole production process.

“This reduces the potential to use NZ as a dumping ground for surplus product as has happened in the NZ pork industry.

“What can we do? The NZ government is not going to backtrack due to the Trans Pacific trade agreement. NZ producers must meet stringent requirements and these requirements will be extended to imported product.

“Anyone who wants to supply meat to the market, must meet the scheme that the NZ producers have to meet.

“The NZ market is very small with total production approximately 1,400,000kgs spread between three producers. The market mostly consists of smaller resellers.

“Selling a pallet of product gets

everyone excited,” he said.Dr Peter Scott form Scolexia and

Dr Tim Wilson from Scolexia R&D talked about regulatory affairs.

1. Vaughan Chenowith from Ridley AgriProducts. 2. Colin Quast from Quast Turkeys talked about industry issues. 3. Lachlan Dick from New Zealand Meat addressed the issue of imports.

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NEWS‘Importation of cooked turkey meat

– government risk analysis, where are they up to?’ was the question they asked.

“On the subject of import risk analysis, the risk is composed of probability and consequence. The idea is to reduce risk to a very low level, but not to zero.

The Department Agriculture is responsible for the risk analysis and is preparing a draft report to be released this year.

Stakeholders have the opportunity to comment on the analysis (for only a short period 60 days). The department will consider the feedback and then launch the report.

The import resource assessment (IRA) team are responsible for considering the risk and how it can be handled.

One area of risk is the likelihood that a disease agent will enter Australia through the importation of the animal product. There are a variety of areas to consider. For example: the wrappers and containers that the product comes in is a very important consideration.

This is one of the points that will be mentioned in any application (example). The Department of Agriculture regulators may or may not change regulations and or policy with respect to turkey meat imports. Conditions can make it unattractive for those looking to export to Australia.

Animal Health Australia (AHA) presnted ‘Working together for animal Health’ and the speakers were Kelly Wall Livestock Welfare and Kevin de Witte, Executive Manager welfare team AHA.

On the subject of ‘Poultry Welfare Standards and Guidelines Development for Turkeys, Kevin de Wiite said that AHA is a small service provider company which is part of emergency animal outbreak preparedness.

“AHA works with vet clinics, universities, and government agencies. Welfare standards for cattle and sheep have been established by AHA already.

In developing a model code of practice for the poultry industry the following definitions are followed: define reasonable requirements, guidance to courts of law and identify issues for further research.

“The development of welfare standards is in part how to manage issues in the industry. We als need to talk about and define welfare issues, and focus on points of interaction.

“Creating a sustainable system, balance on farm and what we can prove

with science are also important.”“Standards are created to focus on

the below average producers, not focus on the above average producers.

“What are the guidelines?” sked Kelly Wall.

“The AHA does not want to inflict unrealistic rules while considering the views of consumers. Standards approved ‘will be law’.

“Poultry Standard and Guidelines is a collaborative process from producers and those in the industry which includes the DPI, meat industries (turkey, duck, and broiler) States and Territories, Government agencies, Animal Welfare Task Group, supply chain etc.

“They are all part of the process developing a document used to set policy (set by government). Go to www.animalwelfarestandards.net.au area for public consultation.

Greg Connors from Ridley Agriproducts lead the Nutrition Discussions.

Water was the first topic and Greg stated that water is a fundamental nutrient that is undervalued.

“Water is a major component in the body, in fact 70% and it plays a key role in body functions and regulations. For example every 1 degreesC increase in temperature equals 8-9%increase in water intake.

“Water and feed are both an important consideration in regards to poultry nutrition.

“The chick potential to grow is predetermined by genetic potential, but you can optimise or maximise the potential to grow! Early feed consumption is an important factor. The sooner the bird is onto feed, the small intestine is stimulated and begins to develop.

“Any delay in the access to feed and water can result in the following: mortalities, poor growth, decreased disease resistance and impaired muscle development.

“Managing leg problems can be hard! Leg problems can be due to a variety of problems and it is critical to look specifically at time periods (periods in growth): • Week 1: Problems before they start eating, what is happening with hens? • Week 2-10: greatest time of bone/skeletal growth and development • Week 10-18 Second half of growth – period of greatest economic impact.

John Sharp from Aviagen discussed ‘The current status of Avian Influenza in the US and the long term effects on the turkey industry’.

1. John Sharp from Aviagen. 2. Dr Peter Scott from Scolexia. 3. Tugrul Durali from Alltech. 4. John Watson from Pooginagoric Free Range Turkeys.

1

2

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 w

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26

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NEWS“The AI H5N8 virus originated in

Asia and spread rapidly along migratory pathways in 2014, including the Pacific flyway.

“The USDA identified two mixed virus strains, one from Asia and one from the US.

“AI follows the migrating bird’s flyways across the United States and there are four identified flyways.

“In 2014 the USDA reported 223 detections in 40 thousand wild birds and back yard flocks and bird markets. There were 7.75 million turkeys and 40.3 million chickens.

“What happens when HPAI is detected on your farm? USDA APHIS take over the identified farm and there is a complete clean out of all birds and farm and the traffic will be controlled.

“Once no virus is detected, the birds can return. Once birds return to the farm stringent test programs are put in place. The area surrounding the farm becomes a control zone. In the control zone (quarantine) you must test every other day (initially) then every 5-7 days.

“Testing is a minimum of five swabs in (5 in 50 dead birds) or tests of live birds. Every farm is required to complete an epidemiology questionnaire. Export and trading partners are notified.

“As regards to indemnity procedures, farms are paid only on the number of birds alive at the time of preliminary flock inspection and full market value is paid.

“An HPAI outbreak happens quickly and mortality is high. As the entire farm will be depopulated farms are forced to choose methods of depopulation. These are CO2 and foam.

“In case of a depopulation, the USA has found that in-house composting is the best method of disposal. This is difficult and takes time and can mean three to four months downtime and it needs to be done just right. They use one part litter and one part straw and water.

“Disposal was an enormous problem as there were 76 sites and 32.7 million birds affected by the virus in Iowa this year.

The 35 turkey flocks with 1.14 million birds have been depopulated and are currently being composted. Iowa was the second most effected state and Minnesota was the most effected with 153 turkey farms with 7.75 million turkeys or 3% or the turkey industry. As for chickens there were 70 farms with 40.4 million birds.

“The lessons that were learned

included that wild birds were responsible for introducing HPAI into commercial poultry.

“An interesting point is that the virus can be transferred by air. Wind data shows that there is a relationship here, and that this definitely is a way to spread of the virus.

“Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Every company needs an AI plan and a mass depopulation plan. Every company needs a plan for catastrophic mortality. The grower is the first line of defence.

“Other measures that are now in practice include deterrents to wild birds particularly waterfowl from visiting farms. Also to drain nearby ponds, use reflective streamers or whirly gigs, on feed tanks and barns fences everywhere.

Also remove vegetation from the farm or spray the vegetation with a chemical that leaves a bad taste to birds who may consume it.

The USA is developing a vaccine for future outbreaks but it is still under question whether the vaccine will allowed to be used.

Byron Stein from the NSW Department of Agriculture covered the topic of ‘Social license – is there a future for the poultry industry in Australia?’

“The industry needs to start thinking outside the square,” he said.

“Currently most intensive livestock industries lack social license. The industry needs to consider the environment and the community/society.

“They will make decisions for the industry, instead of the industry doing it for themselves. Social license is ‘being left alone to get along with your own business’.

“This is not happening in intensive livestock industries. If the industry doens’t make decisions, other people will be telling you how to run your business.

“As an industry we need to get together to promote our own industry. So what do we do? There needs to be industry engagement and that means education, certification and verification. The social benefit perceived will be greater than the social cost.

v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

USA: Tainted feed results in deaths of 47,000 turkeysTainted soy oil cost a West Michigan turkey farm more than $1 million when it killed 47,000 turkeys and ruined 500 tons of feed, federal authorities said.

Shur-Green Farms of Ansonia, Ohio, allegedly continued to sell the tainted product after the turkey deaths.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the company intentionally misrepresented industrial waste tainted by drug residue as recycled restaurant oil.

FDA said at least two shipments of the waste byproduct, which is intended only for fuel use, was sold in September 2014 as soy oil with the implication that it was fit for use as food.

The oil was used at Sietsema Farms of Allendale, Michigan, where turkey flocks at five of the farm’s locations died in August 2014 after eating feed that contained the oil.

All the birds died before they went to market.

Sietsema Farms believed the oil it bought was restaurant-grade oil used in the manufacture of pelleted animal feed, and was unaware of the drug content.

Also as a result of the feed contamination, 35,900 head of swine were held from market for 29 days to assure none of the drug residue would be in the meat when they went to the slaughterhouse.

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Project5:R&E Shedsfinal 25/03/14 2:26 PM Page 1

Potters Poultry appoints two new members to its team

Senior executive changes announced at ACMF

Potter’s Poultry has made two new appointments to its equipment division, continuing the company’s commitment to providing national and international coverage to its customer base.

Richard Beevis joined the company in the last week of June as International Business Development Manager, and Dave Clegg joined as Regional Equipment Manager in July.

Richard brings more than 22years of industry experience and knowledge of production and technical matters gained most recently from roles at Hy-Line, and previously within the broiler breeder division of Cargill – when it was known as Sun Valley.

“Throughout my career, I have been involved with Potters Poultry in one way or another and know them to be an innovative and progressive company. I have admired them as individuals and as a company and when the chance came to join them, just after they’ve moved into new premises, promising exciting times ahead, I jumped at the chance,” said Richard.

“I’m really looking forward to building on my predecessor’s efforts and representing the company in the widest range of developing markets around the world.”

Dave Clegg joins Potters with a wealth of experience from the equipment sector. His new role will be

to advise and help customers with their equipment requirements and manage sales primarily in Wales and the west of England. He says that he is looking forward to working with the UK’s only manufacturer of nests.

Dave is based in the South West Midlands. His family is heavily involved in the poultry industry, with one son who has just joined Cargill, and one daughter studying animal nutrition.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge offered by Potters,” he said. “I hope that the contacts and expertise I can bring to the only poultry farming equipment manufacturing business in the UK will help the company continue to develop and expand.”

“Both appointments allow the company to introduce new energies and insights into the business and refresh the customer service team,” said Antony Taylor, Sales and Marketing Director.

“I’m delighted to be able to welcome both Richard and Dave to Potters Poultry. The experience of both will add technical and commercial value to our team, and enhance the contributions we will be able to make to our customers’ businesses on a national and international scale,” he said.

Richard Beevis can be contacted on: richard.beevis@potterspoultry.co.uk and Dave Clegg is on david.clegg@potterspoultry.co.uk

NEWS

With the retirement of the current Executive Director of the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF) and the Australian Poultry Industries Association (APIA), Dr Andreas Dubs, effective mid-July 2015, ACMF and APIA has announced the appointment of Dr Vivien Kite as his successor.

Dr Kite is well known to many in the chicken meat industry, having served in the position of Deputy Executive Director and R&D Manager for more than 20 years.

Her technical expertise and thorough knowledge of the industry are much appreciated. Dr Kite is a long-standing member of the Executive of the International Poultry Council where

she represents the Australian poultry industry.

More recently, Dr Kite also became our official blogger with monthly pieces being published on www.chookchat.org.au.

The Board of APIA and the Executive of ACMF said they look forward to working with Dr Kite in her new leadership position which she took up on July 20, 2015.

An important challenge in the implementation of this change was to find a person to step into the role of Assistant Executive Director and R&D Manager.

ACMF and APIA announced that Dr Kylie Hewson has joined them.

Dr Hewson was working as R&D Project Manager for the Australian Egg Corporation Ltd. She gained a PhD from the University of Melbourne in molecular virology undertaking research related to poultry diseases. Dr Hewson took up her appointment on August 3, 2015.

APIA Board Chairman, Mr Kevin McBain, also thanked Dr Andreas Dubs for his distinguished service to and as national spokesperson for the industry over the past ten years.

“Dr Dubs’ tenure as Executive Director has coincided with a major step-change in the extent and quality of our industry associations’ communication with the chicken meat industry’s stakeholders, including our informative website and closer engagement with government, regulators and the broader community.

“We wish Andreas all the best as his career progresses to non-executive director and advisory roles,” Kevin McBain said.

28

Above: Dave Clegg (left) and Richard Beevis have both joined Potters Poultry.

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NEWSAbbott cranks up opposition to rooftop solar and wind energyIt came as no surprise that Tony Abbott announced that he wanted the Clean Energy Finance Council (AEFC), an initiative of the Gillard Labour government, terminated.

In the meantime he has stated that he doesn’t want more of that corporation’s funds going to either wind derived energy, or rooftop solar, as he describes these sectors to be ‘mature’ and more research should be conducted into other areas. There has been no mention of clean coal (yet)!

Poultry Digest has become quite a fan of solar energy, as it appears to ideally suit the poultry sector which faces spiraling energy costs at a time of static or near static remuneration and it is worth reminding ourselves of why these costs have risen so dramatically.

In the case of electricity the need to maintain the ‘poles and wires’ has become very expensive while consumers have actually listened to advice on more efficient energy use by choosing better devices and thinking more carefully about energy use itself.

The net result has been a surplus of capacity for much of the time and then along comes consumer owned solar technology that not only saves on energy from the grid, but used judiciously at peak periods, dramatically reduces the profitability of the energy networks, who make less from peak period usage as a result of consumer owned renewables.

In Germany, which generates close to 20% of its power from mostly wind and solar, the big energy suppliers are in financial difficulty. This is largely because renewable energy greatly reduces the return to those supplying base load 24/7 power, because that wind and solar power is developed in periods where peak period tariffs apply.

So while renewable only contributes 20% of the energy its supply reduces mainstream power supply revenues by up to 70% when conditions are ideal.

In smaller EU countries with climates more similar to Australia’s, Malta generates 73% and Cyprus 65% of its electricity requirement, mostly through solar.

Today’s Australian politicians seem unable to cut through on the issue of future energy requirements. Consumers want to pay less and many want cleaner energy solutions.

The States that own an ageing power grid network want to maximise returns in States like NSW and Queensland so they can privatise electricity supply delivering them revenue in the short term to aid their re-election and absolve them from the responsibility to renovate or rebuild networks in the future.

So great is their need to do this that a popular Queensland premier actually lost a state election last year over the issue to a Labour party left with only seven seats after the 2012 election.

Consumers have been repeatedly assured that a privatised electricity supply will not involve significant cost to consumers but they clearly don’t believe that.

Around the world coal that has driven industrial development and prosperity for two centuries is coming to the end of its run as a viable power source yet Tony Abbott wants to ensure its primary position for yet another generation.

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Aviagen Management Essentials Nortje De Wet

Technical Manager, Aviagen Australia, New Zealand and Asia

De Wet has 23 years of experience in the poultry industry with a large integrated company in South Africa, before joining Aviagen ANZ in 2012.

Author Quote: “Good brooding must start with optimal incubation conditions in the hatchery”.

Brooding starts at the HatcheryObjective

To provide the optimal environment at the hatchery to promote good early chick development and appetite.

Key Points

1. Ensure the hatch window is correct. If chicks are hatching too early, they will become dehydrated leading to an increase in 7 and 14 day mortality and ongoing poor broiler performance.

2. If the chicks hatch too late this will result in poor hatchability and chick quality problems.

3. After hatching it is essential to maintain a chick body temperature of 39.4 – 40.5°C for the first 3-4 days.

4. Hatchery chick holding areas and transport should have an ambient temperature of 22-28°C (71.6-81.4°F), a relative humidity of 50% and have an air exchange of 0.71m³ (25cfm) per 1000 chicks.

5. Temperature and relative humidity should be monitored every hour and appropriate adjustment to the environment made in response to chick behaviour.

6. Ensure the chick holding area and any transport is clean and disinfected before the each hatch and delivery to the farm.

7. Truck temperatures and humidity levels should be monitored and recorded for every delivery.

8. Feed and water should be available immediately on chick arrival.

Environment Requirement of Chicks post hatch

Parameter Temperature (°C)

RH% Air flow

Chick handling and dispatch room

conditions

22-28 50% 0.71m³ (25cfm) per 1000 chicks

Transport conditions

22-28 50% 0.71m³ (25cfm) per 1000 chicks

Farm Air- 30-32 60-70% Minimum

Farm Floor 28-30

He also wants to be ‘an infrastructure government’ and open up the north of Australia for development – both laudable aims and ambitions that clearly emphasise the need for an energy supply rethink.

The key problem for both Abbott and whoever follows him is that decisions on future energy requirements are needed right now.

That decision comes down to three basic options:-1. Increase capacity by increasing renewable energy options like wind and solar and integrating it into a reducing coal powered capability. Big power supply groups like AGL and Origin Energy are already offering solar plans to consumers.2. Take on what Menzies and Gorton started and go for nuclear: there’s a nice site with water views still waiting for a reactor down at Murray Beach on Jervis Bay or in the Northern Territory with vast open spaces and an easier to deal with government structure (i.e. it is a Territory not a State) 3. Stick with the ridiculous ‘Coal is good for humanity’ line and go down fighting.

Another problem for supporters of renewables is that Labour, dependent as it is on union support, is not in any real hurry to see the end of a coal based power supply chain that employs thousands of unionised workers.

In the last twenty years or so union membership in Australia has declined to less than 20% of the working population and if it wasn’t for the rapid growth of the public service sector including health, transport, police and big retail, the figure might be nearer to 10%.

Further, the last Labour governments’ need to rely on independent and Green support lead to some policies than helped, along with their own ineptitude, to make them unpopular with long suffering voters.

As this article is written in mid July, Labour seems to have no clearly defined policy on the countries’ energy future. At least Abbott’s ‘erode some renewable development in favour of coal,’ is at least a clearly defined strategy, even if it’s a bad one.

Given our current PM’s aversion to making any critical decisions that might lose him yet more popularity, why is he so hell bent on supporting an increasingly unpopular coal option at the expense of proven renewable options like rooftop solar and wind power?

Maybe it’s because Australia’s newest coal fired power stations are 40 years old and none of them will be serviceable by 2050 and in many cases, well before that.

Decisions on our energy future need to be made very soon, and Abbott’s enthusiasm for the coal industry is well documented. That industry and the technology it serves to w

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develop the power we need is proven and well organised.

While electricity has been the subject of speculation, the outlook for gas, vital as a source of heating is even less certain in the future.

Once readily available and relatively inexpensive, natural gas has become a global commodity highly sought after by huge economies suddenly denied a nuclear option after the Japanese nuclear incident.

Though Australia has plentiful supplies of coal seam gas, extracting it may be politically challenging to all levels of government wanting to benefit from the revenue streams it delivers.

Further, in concluding a less than fabulous trade deal with Japan, Tony Abbott promised the Japanese supplies of natural gas that we don’t actually have or are likely to extract.

The solution of building a gas pipe from WA to the East Coast, given Australia’s recent poor record in completing grandiose engineering feats (think NBN, the still not finished Pacific Highway in NSW, or even a 25 kilometre railway line to Sydney’s outer suburbs) is unlikely.

The whole point of renewable options instead of ‘big picture’ energy solutions is that they are largely within the control of the user who finances and builds it.

Why does this matter so much to the poultry industry?

Broiler rearing, the base of Australia’s most popular protein source, is very energy intensive and increasingly uncontrollable energy costs threaten profitability to both growers and integrators.

These increasing costs come at a time when the retail sector has created huge pressures on itself to supply ever-cheaper produce to consumers and so drive down returns to suppliers.

Just a few years ago the whole broiler supply industry consisted of family owned enterprises running a supply chain that had been stable for half a century.

That is no longer the case. One of our leading companies is owned by an offshore private equity entity which may have differing attitudes to what has been typical in long term family ownership. At least one or more of the family owned poultry integrators might take the option of selling or of allowing investment from offshore interest groups.

In simple terms the attitudes to rising and uncontrollable energy costs may result in strategies being employed

today that would not even have been considered even ten years ago.

The minerals industry boom fueled by Chinese development has receded but that does not mean that Australia does not have other opportunities as a supplier to both China and other Asian regions.

Population growth and the increase of prosperity in our region offer the opportunity to supply a range of agricultural products including protein to many markets including China.

However to do this and be competitive, reliable and affordable energy is a prerequisite.

Current short term attitudes of most of our politicians would lead any cautious individual reliant on a sustainable and commercially viable energy supply, to seriously look at securing the future of their business by making their own arrangements when it comes to energy supply.

Sure a rebate from government would be nice, but even if its not available a good hard look at renewables is surely a wise option.

Tony Abbott has stated that he regards solar as a ‘mature’ technology not deserving of more financial support from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation but this is a convenient

argument to suit his particular political ends in supporting ‘big coal’.

The emergence of better battery technology like the US Tesla Powerwall will make solar in particular a much better option as a reliable power supply.

The energy providers, previously coal driven, recognise this, which is why they want to sign you up for their solar options before the technology gets better and cheaper.

Australia is one of few sources on the globe of Lithium, the key component of high efficient lithium- ion batteries that used in tandem with solar P/V panels make off the grid solar power a viable option for both householders and industry.

However impurities in this lithium component are thought to be one of the primary causes of Lithium-ion batteries over heating, a critical impediment to reliability.

Using funds from the still massive bank balance of the CEFC to research and develop better lithium production would not only help the solar industry produce a better and more reliable product it could result in a raw material with significant export potential.

Poultry Digest is making its own arrangements for its energy needs, and we aren’t waiting for 2030 or even 2016!

v

NEWS

Tyson Foods eliminates use of the antibiotoc gentamicin from its hatcheriesTyson Foods has removed gentamicin, a key antibiotic for human use, from company hatcheries. Gentamicin is a member of an antibiotic class considered ‘highly important’ in human medicine by the Food and Drug Administration.

Tyson Foods, the largest poultry company in the United States, said the drug and other antibiotics have not been used at its 35 hatcheries since October 1, 2014. The company had not previously given details of what antibiotics were used at the hatcheries, where chicks are born and kept briefly before being moved to poultry farms.

Tyson stated it is also testing alternatives to medically-important antibiotics for use on the farms that house its chickens after they leave the hatcheries. It says it does not use

antibiotics for growth promotion on the farms, but does use them, according to its website, “when prescribed by a veterinarian to treat or prevent disease”.

Gentamicin has been commonly used in hatcheries to fight off infection or prevent disease, including in fertilised eggs, livestock veterinarians and other poultry producers say.

Tyson sees the policy shift as “a significant first step toward our goal of reducing the use of antibiotics that are also used in human medicine,” according to its website.

Tyson has reduced the volume of medically-important antibiotics used in its chicken business by 84% since 2011 and the “vast majority of the antibiotics used to raise our chickens are never used in humans,” according to a company statement.

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PRODUCT NEWS

The normal method of controlling litter beetle (Alphitobius diaperinus) in broiler sheds between batches/after clean-out, is the application of insecticides to the ground before laying litter.

The purpose of this application is to apply an insecticidal treatment to control larvae and adult beetles moving from the soil floor to the litter.

While this method is adequate under normal pest pressure and environmental conditions, there has been an industry need or ‘fix’ to assist high pest and unusual environmental conditions to manage litter beetle population explosions.

Sundew Solutions, working in conjunction with Warwick Madden of Further Research & Consulting, has been investigating the habits of litter beetle in order to develop a supplementary treatment plan for BeetleBETA SC (beta cyfluthrin 125 g/L) insecticide when populations rapidly expand or seem unresponsive to traditional treatment methods.

One of the critical observations of sheds surveyed across Australia was the very significant population of adult beetles harbouring inside the cracks and crevices of walls and ceilings.

Trials conducted using industry standard treatments found that while they controlled adult beetles that came into direct contact with the applied insecticide there wasn’t enough product available to control the beetles in the harbourages. Due to the massive population density within these harbourages, the amount of chemical available to control litter beetle was not enough for effective control.

Counts of adult beetles revealed populations from 2,500 to 5,000 per lineal metre of wall harbourage. This means in a standard 15 metre x 100 metre broiler shed there could potentially be 1,000,000 adult beetles waiting in the walls to lay eggs in the soil following clean-out and the new litter being laid on the floor.

With the potential to lay 1,000 eggs in their lifetime, this gives the opportunity to end up with 1,000,000,000 (a billion) larvae, not counting eggs or larvae from the previous generation residing in the subfloor soil.

This massive hidden population obviously reduces the effectiveness of the standard treatment applications of chemicals used currently.

“Following these discoveries

New research reducing litter beetle populations

Left: A shed wall treated with BeetleBETA at a rate of 4 mL/1L water resulted in a massive adult beetle kill within minutes. Below: A standard industry treatment shows only a handful of beetles have been affected by the spray application.

Sundew has worked to develop a treatment methodology for Sundew BeetleBETA insecticide specifically targeting these massive hidden populations in cracks and crevices of walls and ceilings,” explained Mr Warwick Madden.

“It’s not enough to just rely on a traditional floor spray treatment. No chemical, no matter how good, can be expected to work under the extreme pressure seen in these instances. That’s why a new treatment method needed to be developed to effectively treat this situation.”

Utilising a higher rate of application targeted specifically at cracks and crevices of walls and ceilings (and applied one metre out from the wall on the floor between clean-outs) resulted in a dramatic kill rate and subsequent drop in hidden population. “This improved new rate aimed at adult breeding beetle ‘hot-spots’ is actually the standard treatment rate for control of general insect pests already on the label,” continued Mr Madden. “This focuses a targeted application where the beetles hide between clean outs.”

“The difference in rate of kill is very dramatic between the improved

wall and ceiling crack and crevice application of Sundew BeetleBETA and the standard treatment. Field trials with BeetleBETA have shown the new application rate flushes out beetles and results in much greater visible adult beetle kills. The standard industry rate still does kill beetles, but due to the incredible numbers of beetles harbouring in the walls and ceilings there just isn’t enough insecticide available to take out these big populations. By reducing the adult population this decreases the number of viable adults capable of laying eggs to create the next generation of beetles,” concluded Warwick.

Reducing the maximum number of adult beetles between cycles should lead to reduced populations of litter beetle overall in poultry sheds, which makes good common sense.

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36

PRODUCT NEWSNovus launches Cibenza DP 100 in AustraliaNovus is an expert in amino acid nutrition (Alimet) and the company is pioneering the development of amino acid nutrition in animals launching Cibenza DP100, the latest next generation protease in Australia.

The protease has been successfully utilised for some time in other world areas, including New Zealand.

Cibenza DP100 arrives at a critical time when our poultry industry is faced with increased pressure on feed and production costs, heightened by our competitive retail marketplace.

Poultry Digest met Regional Sales and Technical Support Manager for Novus Australia, Sally Pines at her Drummoyne Sydney office to discuss the significance of Cibenza DP 100.

“Cibenza DP100 presents a new way to deliver digestible amino acids. Customers gain greater flexibility in feed formulation as protein digestibility and energy availability is increased across a range of raw materials allowing for greater use of lesser digestible and cheaper raw materials.

“The result, same performance and

lower cost of production. “Cibenza DP100 provides genuine

alternatives to reduced soybean meal inclusions, flattening variations within raw materials and improving digestibility of lower quality raw materials,” Sally stated.

“Cibenza DP100 an aggressive, broad spectrum and intrinsically heat stable enzyme, complementing endogenous enzymes to hydrolyze less digestible proteins in plant and animal sourced feed ingredients”.

“Simply, Cibenza DP100 is highly effective in breaking down undigested proteins (substrate) in the gastrointestinal tract. The greater substrate the greater the savings,” Sally added.

“With a rich history of R&D in the critical field of animal nutrition, Novus holds great hopes for the potential of Cibenza DP100, in the struggle for the industry to maintain profitability and productivity when faced with ever increasing feed raw material costs,” said Nick Nettle, Sales Director, Novus Australia.

Sally Pines, Regional Sales and Technical Support Manager, Novus Australia.

DuPont brings together leading phytase experts to discuss latest and future trendsThe animal nutrition division of DuPont Industrial Biosciences will host a Phytase 101 workshop just prior to the ESPN 2015 opening ceremony on Monday 24 August, the aim of which is to share the latest scientific findings on phytate and other factors that should influence phytase choice and dose.

Future phytase trends will also be discussed during and after the four expert sessions, the topics of which will be as follows:

• ‘Winning with phytase’. Peter Plumstead, Associate Professor, Monogastric Nutrition at the University of Pretoria, will present research on phytase and dosing choices that maximise value, both in terms of profitability and animal performance. He will also predict where scientific innovation will take us to in the phytase and phytate space. • ‘Phytate, phytase and calcium

interactions’. Dr C Roselina Angel, Associate Professor, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, will unveil her latest research on calcium and phosphorus metabolism and requirements, focusing on methodologies to evaluate phytase effectiveness and achieving the right calcium balance.• ‘Action of different phytase types and doses on phytate in different segments of the broiler digestive tract – what we know now and what we need to know more about’. Loek de Lange, Manager Poultry Cluster, Schothorst Feed Research will share the latest research and his opinion on future developments.• ‘Choosing the right phytase to improve sodium pump function, reduce the catabolism of amino acids and increase protein and glucose uptake’. Ha Hong Truong, Poultry Research Foundation, University of Sydney, will share highlights from two recently published

studies looking at the impact of sodium digestibility particularly on glucose in four segments of the small intestine.

She will also show that certain types of phytase can increase glucose and protein absorption by reducing the catabolism of amino acids

Event moderator, Anne-Marie Debicki-Garnier, Technical Director EMEA, commented, “The objective of this workshop is to help animal nutritionists discuss how best to differentiate their business through phytase use with leading experts in the field in an informal and objective environment.”

Limited places are still available at the workshop; find out more or sign up <http://animalnutrition.dupont.com/eventsinsights/events/events/2015/20th-european-symposium-on-poultry-nutrition/espn-2015-phytase-101-workshop/> at animalnutrition.dupont.com.

NEWSAlltech completes acquisition of Ridley inc

37

Alltech has announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Ridley Inc. (‘Ridley’) in North America pursuant to the terms of the previously announced plan of arrangement transaction.

“Alltech is committed to delivering greater performance and value to farms and ranches around the world by providing the industry’s most advanced animal nutrition products and solutions,” said Dr Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech.

“The Ridley acquisition moves this commitment to a new level by expanding the availability of our leading animal nutrition product offerings and emphasizing our dedication to investing in R&D.

“Ridley now operates as a division within Alltech and the current range of Ridley products and solutions will continue to be available through existing distribution channels.

“In the near future, customers will benefit from an increased variety of nutritional solutions and services, backed by the latest scientific research from Alltech.

“This combination is about our customers, and the enhanced ability we will now have to deliver solutions to them that are built upon the history, strength and scientific innovation of both companies,” continued Dr Lyons.

“We are excited to officially welcome the talented Ridley employees to the Alltech family and look forward to achieving many successes together.”

With the completion of the acquisition, Alltech now has a presence in 128 countries with 77 manufacturing facilities and approximately 4,200 employees globally.

This includes a team with more than 200 advanced degrees in animal science that is committed to developing cutting-edge animal nutrition technologies and tailored

feeding programs, supported by robust research and data analytics.

“Alltech has established a track record of successful acquisitions and integrations, having completed eight

since 2011. “Alltech focuses on best-in-class

companies with trusted technology, talented employees and significant brand recognition,” said Dr Lyons.

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please send an email to:

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38

NEW PRODUCTSNew Rotem Communicator offfered by Technical Services AustraliaTechnical Services Australia (TSA) is offering the new Rotem Communicator unit (Version 3.05).

According to Martin Simmons, who runs TSA, this new item of Rotem developed technology, “is a state-of-the-art alarm and communication center that is ideal for growers to monitor and control their Rotem Controllers and accessories,” he said.

Martin has long experience in working with Rotem controllers and points out that this new communication tool adds to the effectiveness of Rotem’s well proven shed control equipment.

“The Communicator has a user friendly interface with an alfa-numeric keypad, 20 character by 4 line LCD and indicative LED,” he said.

“The product supports connectivity of several contacts simultaneously on various communication devices (such as dial-up, internet, GSM, USB).

“There is a ‘Voice Solution’ plug-in that will support incoming and outgoing phone calls for both alarms and status reports.

“Voice messages can be edited according to personal preference,” Martin explained.

“Remote access is available via dial-up connection and the Communicator can send and receive functional text messages through GSM networks.

“Other features include pager support, eight digital inputs (three dry contact-output relays 5 amp), and

battery backup.“The Communicator supports line

modem as well as supplying remote communication and voice alarms via a phone line. Via Ethernet the unit enables remote communication via internet but does not support alarms.

“GSM-S/GSM-W systems provides for text alarms and text messages only,” Martin concluded.

CRC NEWS

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39

ProTen raises AU$34m to expand Australian chicken farm operationsProTen Ltd, Australia’s largest independent contract grower of broiler chickens, has announced the successful raising of AU$34.0 million of equity that will fund growth and potential diversification opportunities.

The equity raising was oversubscribed, with significant support from both existing and new institutional and sophisticated investors.

The equity will be invested into a $130.0m growth strategy as ProTen pursues further organic growth projects, including possible expansion into related protein industries.

The balance of capital has been sourced from ProTen’s senior lenders.

Trading in ProTen shares, which trade on New Zealand’s ‘Unlisted’ market, was suspended on May 6 at the request of the company pending completion of the capital raising.

The funds will underpin ProTen’s strategy to achieve significant earnings growth through the development of its Australian operations and will also be used to repay a Redeemable Preference Share financing completed in 2012.

The success of this capital raising highlights ProTen’s ability to secure ongoing investor support for a business that has stable recurring revenue and consistent margins as well as very attractive growth opportunities.

ProTen is targeting an increase in its total production from 40.0m to 72.0m chickens per year representing approximately 11% of Australia’s production.

This will be largely achieved through organic expansion, predominantly in regional and rural areas. The company’s farms are located in New South Wales and Western Australia and have long-term supply contracts with Baiada, the nation’s biggest chicken processor.

ProTen is proud to be a major employer in regional Australia and intends to continue to be at the forefront of this exciting industry as demand for protein continues to increase.

Chicken is the most popular meat in Australia and is experiencing the fastest growing consumption rates globally, largely due to chicken’s price advantage over other meat.

ProTen was advised on the capital raising by Proserpine Capital Partners.

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40

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New approach to boosting vaccine response in ovoWhile the Embrex Inovoject vaccination system has revolutionised the control of many diseases in poultry production, largely by making the vaccination process simpler and more cost effective, there remains a specific need for improvements in the quality and magnitude of the immune response of the embryo. Additionally, there are issues with co-administration of some live attenuated poultry vaccines.

Dr Mark Tizard at CSIRO is leading a CRC project (Vaccine response boost through immune enhancing microRNA delivery in ovo) aimed at improving the immune response to current in ovo vaccines.

As Mark explained, “a number of products have been developed and tailored to the Embrex system to control a range of diseases including infectious bursal disease (IBV), Marek’s disease (MDV) and coccidiosis. Although the immune system of the 18 day old embryo responds to these vaccines, there is substantial room for improvement and there are other vaccines that are still embryo lethal or ineffective if administered to the 18 day old embryo”.

Additionally, Mark noted that there are issues with co-administration of some live attenuated poultry vaccines. “For instance it is not possible to combine ILTV with either NDV or IBV for spray administration at day of hatch.

Therefore ILTV has to be administered by drinking water from day seven post hatch and onwards. Another issue is that the NDV vaccine is lethal if administered in ovo”.

Industry has expressed “a crying need for more effective vaccination regimens, and the ability to protect hatchlings from greater range of diseases particularly during the critical first two weeks of life”.

Rather than the traditional adjuvant approach, Mark’s project aims to use miRNAs (small molecules which are master regulators of cell type development and differentiation) to accelerate the maturation of the cells of the embryonic immune system.

Success with current vaccines could present further opportunity to develop more vaccines in the in ovo format, i.e. those that are currently embryo lethal, and to develop new vaccination regimens.

Mark summarised his approach, saying, “in ovo maturation of the immune system presents three clear benefits. First is the improvement of efficacy of current in ovo vaccines without the need for reformulation, second is the possibility that vaccines currently administered post-hatch will become viable as in ovo vaccinations, and third is the possibility that chicks hatching with an already matured immune system will be more resilient to the pathogen loads (viral, bacterial and protozoan)”.

The potential to substantially improve hatchlings’ ability to mount their own immune responses to other pathogens encountered in the intensive production environment, including bacteria, is a highlight of this project. Improved natural response and resilience to bacterial pathogens is likely to become more of an issue as Australia moves towards removal of antibiotics in feed, which other countries are adopting or considering adopting. The move toward free range organic farming practices, which equates to increased exposure to pathogens in the environment, will also benefit from an augmented response to disease and bacterial challenge.

Finally, the economic value of this project is obvious; boosting flock immunity to a range of diseases will significantly reduce production losses. With Inovoject vaccines being widely used in Australia and across the global poultry industry (over 200 million doses are administered every year); the potential dollar value of enhanced protection from production losses for industry is huge.

Dr Mark Tizard from CSIRO

CRC workshops highlight MAK and composting spent hens

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CRC NEWS

Over the past two months, the CRC has run workshops to outline the basic principles of Modified Atmosphere Killing (MAK), accompanied by a complementary session on the composting of dead spent layer hens on-farm.

Modified Atmosphere Killing workshops were held in cities in four states (Adelaide, Penrith, Toowoomba and Perth) and featured Drs Peter Scott and Arif Anwar from Scolexia, Mr Geof Runge from AECL, and egg producer Mr Bede Burke.

The sessions discussed the major considerations for MAK in terms of design, construction and operation, and were followed by a case study from Bede on on-farm composting.

As Lloyd Thomson, Commercial Manager for the CRC, said, “to maintain accreditation of MAK by the RSPCA, it is critical to ensure egg producers employ a welfare-friendly process, and this was the driving force behind our project to

Jansen Poultry Equipment expands Asia team

Jansen Poultry Equipment has appointed two new Area Managers in Asia to strengthen its presence and support services to all poultry farmers in the region. Dr Eric Brawner and Mr Niranchai Tripati will support the team of Jansen Asia.

Dr Eric Brawner will be overseeing the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan.

Dr Brawner is an experienced veterinarian who has extensive farm production experience, having come from one of the largest integrators in the Philippines.

He also has substantial export sales background in farm equipment sales. He will add value to the Jansen Asia team with his balanced technical knowledge and business acumen.

Mr Niranchai Tripati will take charge of the South Asian region. Mr Tripati is a seasoned export sales and trading manager coming from his experience in a number of top Agri-companies in Thailand.

His network of influence lies in the various countries of South Asia specifically India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. His entrepreneurial aggressiveness will be an advantage in Jansen Poultry Equipment's market push in this emerging region.

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develop and extend to industry the best practice for on-farm euthanasia of spent hens.”

The workshops were “a great blend of on the ground information, practical tools and current research in an area that is important for WA producers” said Commercial Egg Producers’ Association of WA Executive Officer, Lucy Radzikowska.

“I am certain that it was a success for our producers, industry and government representatives”.

With the closure of one Western Australian poultry processing business recently, roll out of this information has proved to be quite timely. Producers who missed the workshops can contact Poultry CRC to obtain a copy of the best practice manual and summary flyer sheets.

42

NEWSAldi and Costco gaining favour at expense of Coles and Woolies according to Morgan Stanley surveyA report by investment managers Morgan Stanley, based on a survey of 1500 consumers, revealed that 44% of those responding to that survey stated that “value for money and good promotions have become more important drivers of shopping behavior in the last two years, while quality of fresh foods and the range of fresh foods have become less important,” according to an article on the issue published in the Australian Financial Review by Sue Mitchell on July 16, 2015.

“This figure has risen from 39% when the same question was posed two years ago while 27% said that quality of fresh food was most important, down from 30% in 2013.

“The trend was most pronounced among women aged 35 to 54 where 45% rated value for money as the most important factor when choosing where to buy groceries.

“The finding will ring alarm bells at Woolies and Coles which are increasingly relying on the freshness and breadth of their offer in fresh foods such as fruit and vegetable, meat, poultry and dairy to differentiate themselves from discounters Aldi and Costco,” the report stated.

“As Aldi and Costco move into the mainstream, they appear to be having an impact on what consumers look for in a supermarket,” Morgan Stanley analyst Tom Keirath said of his

close to 5% since 2013.“The survey states that consumer

awareness of Aldi has risen from 82% to 87% as the chain opens new stores and advertises on TV, while Costco has risen 54% to 68% as the members only discounter opens new warehouses.

“Though awareness of Aldi and Costco has risen only a minority of consumers shop at these stores on a regular basis, due to their smaller store networks and in the case of Aldi, limited product range of mostly private label products.

“The Morgan Stanley Survey revealed that 52% of respondents had shopped at Aldi and 11% at Costco in the past year and fewer were regular shoppers at 27% (Aldi) and 4% (Costco).

“Aldi’s latest customers are coming increasingly from Coles rather that Woolworths because they felt that Aldi offered superior value for money,” according to the survey.

“Further speculation revealed in the Australian Financial Review article is that Aldi and Costco will increase their share of the market to more than 13% by 2020, taking customers from Woolworths, Coles and independent supermarkets supplied by Metcash,” the ARF article based on the Morgan Stanley report concluded.

If the competition for the long established retail stores is competitive now, the news that world’s number four retailer, the other German discount chain Lidl, may soon be opening stores in Australia must be regarded by existing retail management with dismay.

Lidl are well established in Europe and the UK: Poultry Digest recently shopped in their stores situated in Granada Spain, and Dorking UK.

Apart from a generally cheerful atmosphere, sharply priced recognized brands, as well as private label goods and a surprisingly wide variety, the busy car parks were just as packed with Mercs as they were with Kia’s etc.

Maybe in long established retailer operations located in Europe the stratification lines typical of the UK example of Marcs & Sparks down to Morrisons/Tesco and super discounters Aldi and now Lidl, are breaking up as changing demographics alters buying habits and attitudes.

company’s report.“We think that differentiation within

fresh departments has reduced as Coles and Aldi have improved their fresh offer, which has led to consumers placing less importance on this factor,” he added.

“Potentially this is an alarming development for the full line supermarkets as this is one of the only areas where they have a clear point of difference in our view,” the analyst stated.

“Woolworths and Coles are cutting grocery prices to reduce a 15% price gap with Aldi and increasing the frequency and depth of promotions.

“However, as Woolworths and Coles can never compete on price alone with the low cost operator, they are attempting to differentiate their offers by improving their fresh food ranges and devoting more space in stores to fruit and vegetables a well as installing bread ovens, in store butchers, even cheese counters and sushi bars.

“They are also working with supply chains to reduce the time it takes to get fresh food into their stores.

“Statistics released in mid July showed that Aldi sales have increased by around 20% over the last two years from a low base to $6 million in 2014.

“By comparison, Woolworths food and liquor sales have risen by an average of 4.7% p.a. and Coles by

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NEWS Two new chicken farms being built by Riverina Holdings in Carrathool ShireApplications for two new intensive chicken farms in the region takes to $100m the investment proposed in the industry locally this year.

The new developments in the Carrathool Shire are to supply Baiada’s factory in Griffith, and are in addition to Pro-Ten’s plans for a $60m farm near Narrandera.

Riverina Poultry wants to build its farm, consisting of 20 sheds, 60 silos, 10 water tanks and a dam, at Tabbita.

A Victorian based chicken producer, Lemic Holdings, wants to establish a 24 shed chicken raising farm at Goolgowi.

Each farm would be capable of housing more than one million birds at any given time, and each would be capable of five production cycles a year, resulting in around 10 million chickens being produced at the two farms in a year

The two developments are worth just under $40m and would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Funding needed to open poultry processing plantA South Australian poultry cooperative is lobbying the State Government to help it finance the reopening of a poultry processing plant south of Adelaide.

The Fleurieu Poultry Association (FPA) said the second phase of a feasibility study and business plan into the viability of reopening the former Inghams turkey processing plant have been completed.

The facility at McLaren Vale closed last December, forcing producers to make the 300 kilometres round trip to the Barossa Valley to process their birds.

FPA Project Officer, Rick Duke, said the group needed to secure funding and was lobbying the State Government and others on that front.

One farm estimates that it would inject $13m into the Carrathool Shire annually.

Lemic Holdings says in 2013 the average Australian consumed 44 kilograms of chicken a year and that is estimated to rise to almost 50 kilograms in 2019/20.

HEALTH FEATURE

44

Salmonella and eggs: from production to plate (Part 2)By HARRIET WHILEY1 and KIRSTIN ROSS1

Post-collection control methods

The benefits of current egg washing technology has been debated due to concerns the process may transfer Salmonella from the egg shell surface into the contents of the egg.

There is also the concern that washing can spread Salmonella causing cross contamination. Hutchison et al. demonstrated experimentally that washing contaminated eggs under optimum conditions (conveyor belt speed of 111 cm/min, prewash water was 44 °C and 138 kPa, wash water was 44 °C, 262 kPa and contained 3 g/L of chlorowash (a chlorine based disinfectant, rinse water was 48 °C, 262 kPa and contained 2.5 ml/L of Quat 800 rinse water agent and post-washing air eggs drying for 2 min at 42 °C) resulted in a 5 log reduction of Salmonella CFU on the shell surface and Salmonella was not detected from the internal contents of the egg.

However, variations in this wash time and lower temperatures enabled both S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium to penetrate

the egg shell and contaminate the egg contents. Egg washing protocols have been augmented by the addition of chemical compounds. Wang and Slavik experimentally compared the effect three commercial egg washing compounds have on Salmonella penetration of the egg shell post washing.

Two of the commercially available chemical compounds (quaternary ammonium compound (QAC, pH 7.5) and hypochlorite (NaOCl, 100 ppm, pH 7.5)) were shown to reduce Salmonella penetration of the egg shell; however, washing with sodium carbonate (Na2CO3, pH 12) was shown to facilitate bacterial penetration.

Another addition to the egg washing protocol is the utilisation of slightly acidic electrolysed water, which was demonstrated by Cao et al. to experimentally reduce and even eliminate S. Enteritidis on shell eggs and washing water preventing cross contamination.

The difficulty with interpreting these results for real world application is that the effect on egg shell penetration was not explored.

Whole eggs and egg pulp pasteurisation through heat treating for short periods of time, is another method which has been demonstrated to reduce Salmonella contamination.

Barbour et al. demonstrated that when whole eggs inoculated with Salmonella were treated by placing in a hot water bath at 57 °C for 25 min, followed by application of hot air at 55 °C for another 57 min a significant reduction in the Salmonella contamination was observed. When the initial inoculation was reduced to approximately 106 CFU there were no viable Salmonella detected after this heat pasteurization.

Pasquali et al. also demonstrated that hot air treatment only reduced S. Enteritidis contamination of eggshells by up to 1.9 log, with no significant changes to any of the quality traits of the egg.

Pasteurisation may present a suitable method to reduce the risk of salmonellosis from eggs for high risk groups such as aged care facilities and hospitals; however, this is not likely to provide a solution for all due to consumers desire for raw whole foods and concern regarding consumption of pasteurised foods .

Irradiation of eggs has been presented as a potential method to prevent salmonellosis. The minimal dose required to inactivate Salmonella is 1.5 kGy which had been shown to cause changes in sensorial and functional properties of the egg.

Sensorial changes include increased egg yolk odour and decreased clarity of the egg white, functional changes include decrease foam stability of the egg white. Experimentally, egg whites irradiated at doses 2.5 and 5 kGy were shown to have increased foaming ability but decreased foam stability which obviously limits the functionality and desirability of the egg white.

Despite this, irradiation and pasteurisation may

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present an acceptable option for high risk populations, such as the elderly, immunocompromised, children and pregnant women. As such they may be a suitable control method against salmonellosis for hospitals and aged care facilities. As such, regulatory guidelines enforcing the use of pasteurised egg products for vulnerable populations would be method to reduce the risk of salmonellosis.

Another approach was presented by Leleu et al. who demonstrated that coating eggshell with chitosan (a linear polysaccharide derived from crustaceans) significantly reduced penetration by S. Enteritidis.

Experimentally a 2% chitosan eggshell coating resulted in only 6.1% of eggs being penetrated compared to 24.5% of untreated eggs. However, chitosan coating did not reduce eggshell contamination, which does not prevent cross contamination during preparation to other food products.

Storage and transport

A study by Radkowski investigated the effect that storage at different temperatures had on 1440 eggs with the outside of the shells artificially contaminated with 10 CFU of S. Enteritidis. The artificial contamination of shells occurred after 0, 10, or 20 days stored at room temperature and eggs were stored for 0, 7, 14 and 21 days at 2 °C, 20 °C, and 30 °C prior to measuring the remaining

The results from this study showed that storage at lower temperatures actually increased S. Enteritidis survival on the outside of shell eggs. Alternatively Humphrey et al. explored the effect that storage at room temperature has on the internal concentration of S. Enteritidis of contaminated eggs. During this study a total of 5262 hen eggs from 15 different Salmonella positive flocks were tested for S. Enteritidis at a varying number of days post laying during which they were stored at room temperature.

In the first, second and third week post laying 5/1085 (0.5%), 7/1353 (0.5%) and 1/1221 (0.1%) of eggs were contaminated with S. Enteritidis and all contaminated eggs had <20 cells of S. Enteritidis. After 21 days though 12/1603 (0.8%) of eggs were S. Enteritidis positive, seven of these contained <20 cells but five had >100 cells with two eggs containing 1.5 × 104 and 1.2 × 105 cells of S. Enteritidis.

Another study by Lublin et al. demonstrated that after four weeks

stored at 25 °C the concentration of S. Enteritidis in experimentally inoculated eggs began to increase. They also demonstrated the storing eggs at 6 °C prevented this increase in concentration observed at 25 °C, but did not prevent the survival of the initial concentration of S. Enteritidis.

Egg storage at 10 °C and 20 °C was shown to control S. Enteritidis growth in experimentally inoculated eggs by Okamura et al.

However, they also discovered that fluctuation in temperature promoted growth and that eggs stored at 22–30 °C or 27–35 °C for 5 days followed constant storage at 25 °C caused rapid increases in the number of eggs containing >106 S. Enteritidis cells after only one and two weeks, respectively. This rapid increase due to fluctuation in temperature is important to consider what managing storage and transportation from the farm to the table.

Food handling and preparation

There are inconsistencies in the current literature regarding Salmonella control methods throughout the processing process and the evidence presented is conflicting.

This places a lot of pressure on the control and management of Salmonella

during food handling and preparation. The importance of management of this pathogen during food handing has been further increased by the growing desire of consumers for raw food products.

Humphrey et al. demonstrated using a model kitchen and experimentally contaminated intact eggs that utensils used to mix eggs were sometimes Salmonella positive even after washing. When contaminated eggs were used in a batter mixture that was hand whisked with a fork or hand help mixer, S. Enteritidis was recovered from work surfaces over 40 cm away from the mixing bowl.

Survival of the bacteria was seen in thin dry spots of egg or batter mixture 24 hours after contamination. The importance of successfully cleaning kitchen to remove Salmonella contamination was also explored by Barker et al. In this study, using detergent based cleaning without a rinse step was insufficient in achieving a hygienic surface within a model kitchen.

Although the detergent based cleaning method was improved by addition of a rinse step, the use of hypochlorite at 5000 ppm was a significantly superior to the detergent based cleaning.

This is an important message as sufficient cleaning of kitchen surfaces and utensils is crucial to prevent the

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v cross contamination of Salmonella to other food products.

The importance of appropriate food handling is demonstrated by the example of a series of related salmonellosis outbreaks in Tasmania which occurred between June and December 2005. During this period there were five outbreaks and a total of 125 laboratory-confirmed cases of S. Typhimurium phage 135 reported to the Tasmania Department of Health.

Of these cases 91% were linked to food businesses which had their eggs supplied from the same farm. Each business was found to have inadequate food handling and storage procedures which lead to the cross contamination of Salmonella.

Crespo et al. investigated foodborne disease outbreaks in Spain associated with the consumption of eggs and egg products from 2000–2002. In total there were 895 outbreaks identified and of these 85% were attributed to Salmonella (of these 58% were confirmed as S. Enteritidis).

Investigations into each of these outbreaks identified that the most important control measures was health education, followed by inspection of premises and monitoring of food handlers. The findings from these outbreaks demonstrated the responsibility of food handlers to ensure the hygiene of the finished food products and to never regard eggs as ‘sterile’.

Many food handlers underestimate the risk of Salmonella from raw eggs. A recent study interviewing head chefs and catering managers of restaurant in

Owerri, Nigeria found that although all participants stated they washed their hands after handling raw meat, chicken or fish, 6% stated they did not wash their hands after cracking raw eggs.

The difficulty of ensuring food handlers have the appropriate information regarding food safety education is that the message is not always straight forward. For example Radford and Board explored the role of homemade mayonnaise and S. Enteritidis survival.

It was found that mayonnaise made with vinegar to a pH of 4.1 or less controlled S. Enteritidis. The addition of garlic and mustard to mayonnaise was also protective against S. Enteritidis; however, the addition of salt or any vegetable materials promoted the survival of S. Enteritidis.

The types of oil and vinegar used affected the survival of S. Enteritidis and storage of the mayonnaise at refrigeration temperatures actually protected Salmonella from acidulants. It was recommended that the mayonnaise was stored at 18–22 °C for 24 h prior to refrigeration.

Conclusions

Salmonella contamination of eggs is a complex issue affected by variables at each stage of the food production process. Currently the literature regarding the benefits of free range, barn and caged production processes with respect to Salmonella contamination is conflicting.

However, the current literature does indicate that it is not yet achievable

to produce eggs guaranteed to be Salmonella-free.

This reinforces the importance of post collection control measures for Salmonella. This includes post collection disinfection methods such as washing, pasteurisation and irradiation.

Although the second two methods will not be desirable for all consumers, they provide a niche solution for high risk patients. There is also the need for further research to optimise storage, temperature and food handling protocols as currently the information is highly complex and variable.

Given the current shift in consumers’ preference and increasing desire for raw food products, there is a need for more informed guidelines regarding the preparation of foods containing raw eggs.

Further research is required to explore different protocols to ensure control of Salmonella through temperature and pH of food products. There is also a need to re-educate food handlers and consumers of the risk from raw eggs and cross contamination of food products and reduce the public health risk.

1Harriet Whiley and Kirstin Ross conceived and participated in review design and coordination. Harriet Whiley drafted manuscript and Kirstin Ross provided academic input and both authors approved the final manuscript.Health and the Environment, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001, Australia; E-Mail: Kirstin.Ross@flinders.edu.au Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Choice no consumer champion says NSW farmersFarmers in NSW were left angered recently after the Choice labelled Australian egg producers liars.

In a media statement promoting the release of Choice’s National Free Range Report, the organisation made the false claim that ‘if you buy free range eggs in Australia you are most likely being ripped off.’

NSW Farmers President Fiona Simson said that producers took great pride in their production systems, particularly free range.

“Our free range farmers ensure their hens are free to roam and forage on an outdoor range, have access to vegetation, shelter and shade and are protected from predators.

“They have had enough of disparaging comments that serve only to undermine their good work.

“Our farmers support complete transparency and fully informed consumer choice.

“That’s why we have been working collaboratively with State and Federal ministers to arrive at a nationally consistent definition of free range that can underpin consumer confidence and provide a strong platform for industry investment.

“Both Choice and egg producers agree that discussion on a nationally consistent free-range definition is important.

“But instead of dealing with the

issue with maturity, Choice has opted for a political stunt, telling consumers that if they buy free range, they are being ripped off.

“This is a cheap shot that is unbecoming of a reputable organisation which carries the trust of our consumers.

“We expect such a reputable organisation to sit at the table instead of playing in the sandpit.

“I call on Choice to apologise to egg farmers in NSW, cease their attack on farmers across Australia and sit down with us, the government and other key stakeholders and discuss this issue in a collaborative manner,” Ms Simson concluded.

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