Biosecurity measures to control Campylobacter should take local factors into account. That was a key message from the Campylobacter Control Training Workshop held by the Campylobacter Knowledge Network in Monaghan in September.
More than 100 delegates attended, many of them poultry growers keen to hear the latest developments in on-farm biosecurity.
Dr Mogens Madsen from Denmark presented the findings from the multi-partner EU project, CamCon, and demonstrated the tools developed to implement the findings. The two-year project aimed to provide European broiler producers and governments with knowledge and tools to achieve production of “low risk broilers”, meaning Campylobacter-free broilers or broilers with a very low contamination level of Campylobacter.
Delegates heard how the biosecurity measures must be country-specific, because what is cost-effective in one area may not be cost-effective elsewhere.
Mogens also emphasised that poultry growers should focus on biosecurity in each individual house, rather than on the farm as a whole, and that the most significant risk factor is introduction by humans.
Delegates were given a demonstration of some of the outputs from the CamCon project, including an e-learning programme and a best practice manual for those working on poultry farms.
At the workshop in the Four Seasons Hotel, Tara Battersby and Shaun Smith described their research on potential sources of Campylobacter in broiler houses in the Republic of Ireland, and how they might be addressed, including the challenges of thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting equipment such as feeders and drinkers.
“Several agencies have been actively tackling the Campylobacter problem,” said Declan Bolton, the Knowledge Networks facilitator. “The FSAI has brought all the stakeholders together and developed a strategy for the processors, while safefood has worked hard to educate consumers." The Food Standards Agency (FSA) also have a well developed programme called 'ACT' to reduce Campylobacter in poultry.
“Now we need to build on this. Teagasc research, funded by DAFM, suggests we need improved biosecurity on the farm, including training for farmers, testing of all flocks and a review of thinning; new technologies such as crust freezing and cook-in-the-pack; and continued consumer education on poultry preparation by safefood.”
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