Liquid Feeding of Swine - Potential Positive and Negative Impacts on Pork Safety

Recent studies suggest that liquid feeding, and especially feeding of fermented feeds, can enhance gut health in pigs, reduce the reliance on in-feed medication in commercial pork production and reduce the contamination of pork products with Salmonella spp. In Ontario a wide range of by-products from the food industry is currently used, or considered for use, in liquid feeding of swine. This study will survey types and suppliers of liquid swine feed ingredients in Ontario, including a characterization of pathogens (especially Salmonella spp.) and harmful chemicals in these ingredients and develop a suggested blueprint for routine ingredient evaluation. In addition, the study will characterize changes in microflora, especially the development of pathogens, during fermentation of selected liquid swine feed ingredients, with and without incubating the fermentation medium with probiotics. An impact of feeding non-medicated fermented feed to growing pigs on growth performance, gut health, fecal excretion of pathogens and contamination of pig carcasses and pork with pathogens and harmful chemicals will be established.