IMPROVING FEED SAFETY OF PELLETED BROILER FEED DURING THE FEED MANUFACTURE PROCESS THROUGH INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION WORKSHOPS

The goal of this proposed integrated research and extension project is to identify microbial safety risks associated with pelleted broiler feed and develop standard feed mill operation procedures to reduce foodborne pathogens in pelleted feed. This project will also aid in discovering the best methods to reduce pathogens in pelleted feed. Results from this proposed project will assist the entire feed industry in developing procedures to reduce pathogenic bacteria in feed, and potentially in poultry products. This goal will be accomplished by accessing the prevalence of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli in commercial mash; modeling the thermal inactivation of a Salmonella surrogate bacteria, Enterococcus faecium, in broiler feed in a pilot feed mill setting and developing generic HACCP model for feed mills; and developing in-person and online workshops that will address basic feed mill hygiene and methods of controlling pathogenic bacteria during feed manufacture.