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The main goal of this application is to develop and evaluate effective and practical intervention strategies to control Campylobacter contamination of poultry meat and its transmission to consumers. <P>The specific objectives are 1) to develop and evaluate pre-harvest interventions that reduce Campylobacter colonization in poultry flocks, 2) to identify the critical control points and effective treatments in poultry processing plants for reducing Campylobacter contamination of poultry carcasses, and 3) to facilitate poultry industries to adopt effective intervention strategies and educate consumers to avoid infection by Campylobacter. The project is developed with significant input from stakeholders and takes advantage of collaboration with three poultry companies. This is a 5-year-long project. Specific objective 1 and 3 will be conducted during the entire project period, while specific objective 2 will be carried out during the last three years. <P>Once completed, we expect that 1) on-farm management practices will be successfully identified and implemented to reduce Campylobacter prevalence on broiler farms, 2) protective vaccines against Campylobacter colonization in chickens will be developed, 3) effective litter treatment methods for reducing Campylobacter will be identified, 4) the points of contamination of Campylobacter in processing plants will be identified and interventions at the highest risk points will be evaluated, 5) the gained information will be disseminated to industries to design effective in-plant Campylobacter reduction schemes, 6) the targeted stakeholders and consumers will gain awareness and knowledge regarding prevention and control of Campylobacter, and 7) positive impacts on improving food safety and public health will be achieved by reducing the transmission of Campylobacter via poultry meat.
Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
Campylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. and contaminated poultry meat is the leading source of human campylobacteriosis. Therefore, control of Campylobacter in poultry will have a significant impact on ensuring food safety. Despite prior research efforts, there are still no effective and practical interventions that can be applied by poultry industries to control Campylobacter. To address this important food safety problem, we have built an integrated project to evaluate novel and practical intervention strategies and to disseminate science-based knowledge to producers, processors and consumers, facilitating control of Campylobacter at both the production and consumption stages. Specifically, we will develop and evaluate preharvest interventions that reduce Campylobacter colonization in poultry; identify critical control points and effective treatments in poultry processing plants for reducing Campylobacter contamination of poultry carcasses; facilitate poultry industry (producers and processors) to implement effective intervention strategies and educate consumers for proper handling and cooking of poultry meat. The proposed work is developed with significant input from stakeholders and directly addresses the food safety priority areas set by USDA-NIFA. The planned activities utilize integrated and systems-based approaches and are expected to generate practical and effective intervention strategies to improve poultry meat safety and reduce the public health burden. The activities will be conducted by a team of highly experienced investigators and is expected to yield important outcomes that will significantly improve food safety and benefit U.S. poultry industry.
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Approach:<br/>
Various microbiological, epidemiological, and molecular approaches will be used in this study.
<br/>1) A large-scale 2-year longitudinal study will be conducted to determine Campylobacter prevalence and the associated on-farm risk factors on poultry flocks. Cecal samples will be obtained from different broiler farms in multiple states throughout the 2-year period. Campylobacter presence will be determined via standard culture methods. Flock level and farm level-specific standards and procedures, health status, environmental conditions and management practices will be recorded via observation and questionnaires. Logistic regression analyses will be performed for relating Campylobacter colonization status to farm specific information.
<br/>2) Three vaccine regimens that have potential for mass vaccination on poultry farms will be evaluated: in ovo DNA vaccination, oral live Salmonella-vectored vaccines, and intranasal immunization with chitosan encapsulated subunit vaccines.
<br/>3) The effectiveness of aluminum sulfate and sodium bisulfate treatments of litter on Campylobacter survival in the litter will be evaluated by conducting laboratory experiments, controlled pen studies and on-farm treatments.
<br/>4) A process-mapping at commercial broiler processing plants will be carried out to document the points of introduction, reduction and amplification of Campylobacter in poultry during processing. The most promising interventions associated with Campylobacter reduction in carcasses will be further investigated in a pilot processing plant.
<br/>5) Research findings will be disseminated to targeted stakeholders including poultry producers and processors using multiple delivery methods such as internet, written communications, short training courses, symposiums, regulatory agency webinars, and presentations at meetings and conferences.
<br/>6) Consumers will be educated for proper cooking and handling of poultry meat by delivering educational messages, which is aimed to improve awareness and knowledge of Campylobacter and to control the pathogen by improved cleaning, sanitizing, and cooking behaviors.