ISSUE FOCUS 26 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE August 2023 CONTROLLING FEED MICROBIAL LOADS SUPPORTS POULTRY PERFORMANCE The health and performance of poultry are heavily influenced by the health of the gut and the microbiome. Maintaining this balance is crucial to protecting intestinal tissues and preventing disease. Variable microbial loads within feed can challenge the microbiome, leading to a shift in the microbial population and dysbiosis. High microbial loads in feed can cause significant health and performance issues, as goblet cells within the gut proliferate and produce mucus, diverting energy to overcome the challenge. Salmonella, E. coli, and Clostridia are common pathogens found in feed, and associated with high microbial loads. Controlling microbial loads in feed can help improve performance. For example, Clostridium perfringens is a microorganism that can cause severe health issues when it proliferates abnormally during a microbiome imbalance. Preliminary results from research currently underway demonstrates that reducing microbial loads in feed can support the development of a healthy microflora, reduce the severity of lesions and mortality, and improve weight gain and feed conversion during a Necrotic Enteritis challenge in broilers. These findings illustrate how decreasing microbial loads and reducing incoming feed-source pathogen prevalence support broiler health and performance. However, additional research is required to understand how feed sanitation directly impacts the microbiome and intestinal health. Feed sanitizers, such as Termin-8® % NE Mortality D7-35 % M&R D7-35 20.08% 12.85% 25.76% 21.88% 48.11% 39.58% Control Diet Feed Sanitized (D0- D17) Feed Sanitized (D0- D35) Figure 2. Compared to broilers fed a control diet, broilers fed sanitized feed had lower NE-related mortality as well as mortality and removal (M&R) in a NE challenge model. CFU/g (Log10) 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Control Feed Sanitized Feed Total Aerobic Bacteria Enterobacteriacaeae Yeast and Molds C. Perfringens Figure 3. Feed Sanitizer, Termin-8®, Reduces Feed Microbial Loads Compared to Control Feed (Source: Avila et al., 2023)
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