This review will provide information on current UK poultry practices for monitoring and controlling salmonella in broiler farms.
<p>Information will be obtained from a range of different sources both in the UK and overseas. Nine companies representing a cross-section of the UK poultry meat production and slaughter industries, will be interviewed and the information collected by completion of a standard questionnaire.
<p>Issues relating to salmonella biosecurity at the broiler farm will be gathered from a range of sources including experts in ADAS Consultancy, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the University of Bristol and key stakeholders in the poultry industry.
<p>Information will also be obtained from a scientific literature review which focuses on biosecurity against salmonella.
Over the last few years there has been a marked reduction in the reported prevalence of salmonella contamination in chickens sampled from retail outlets.
<p>A recent FSA-funded survey reported around 5.8% of retail chickens in the UK are contaminated with salmonella.
<p>While this contamination rate is low given the numbers of chickens consumed each year in the UK, this still represents a substantial potential risk to public health.
<p>If the FSA is to achieve its foodborne disease target, it is important that measures to control salmonella on-farm are implemented properly.
<p>This review will be carried out to obtain information on current UK poultry practices for monitoring and controlling salmonella in broilers, including an assessment of their efficacy and a comparison of such practices with other countries.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.