Showing papers by "Frederique Pasquali published in 2011"

Campylobacter control strategies in European poultry production

Abstract: In 2008 as in previous four years, campylobacteriosis was the most frequently reported zoonotic disease in humans in the European Union (EU) with fresh poultry meat as one of the most important reservoir of human infection (EFSA, 2010a). The reduction of campylobacter prevalence and load in live poultry is believed to be one of the most effective ways of reducing the contamination of foodstuffs and the number of human campylobacter cases. On this purpose some European Member States adopted national campylobacter control or monitoring programs but a European strategy to reduce campylobacter is still missing. The first step in this direction has been a European Union-wide baseline survey carried out in 2008 at slaughterhouses to obtain comparable values of prevalence of campylobacter in broiler batches and on broiler carcasses for all Member States. Current pre-harvest strategies available to reduce campylobacter contamination in poultry production include the application of on-farm biosecurity measures, the decontamination of litter, and the supplementation of feed with compounds inhibiting campylobacter and the treatment of drinking water. Moreover, novel strategies, specifically targeting campylobacter control at pre-harvest level, are in progress, including administration of probiotics, vaccination, antibiotics used in combination with molecule able to prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial alternatives (i.e. bacteriophages, bacteriocins). This paper is an overview on pre-harvest control strategies.

Alternative egg decontamination techniques to washing.

Abstract: This chapter discusses the alternative decontamination techniques to egg washing researched during the last ten years. Hot air or microwave pasteurization represents the most commonly evaluated methods to thermally inactivate the microbial cell, while gas plasma and pulsed light are some techniques where inactivation can be achieved at room temperature. The efficacy of the reviewed alternative methods against different microorganisms and the risks associated with the loss of egg quality such as the cuticle, the shell membranes, the albumen and the yolk are reported.

Strategies for reinforcing hygienic quality of table eggs.

Abstract: This review describes different strategies which have been explored to reduce food safety risks associated with egg consumption The first one aims to reinforce the chemical (antimicrobial proteins) protection mechanism of eggs by identifying genes coding proteins involved in egg protection The following step is to explore phenotypic variability in egg protection against Salmonella related to environmental factors during egg production and storage and the feasibility to select hens with superior anti-microbial alleles using marker assisted selection A complementary approach is to eliminate eggs at risk by improving the technology for egg grading using noninvasive methods to enhance the detection of eggs with the greatest risk to the consumer Finally, the risk can be controlled by reducing the degree of egg contamination by developing innovative egg decontamination treatments alternative to egg washing We explored the decontamination efficiency of hot air, gas plasma sterilization, modified atmosphere packaging of eggs These approaches were developed under the European programmes RESCAPE

Study on selection and transfer of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli from broiler breeders to their progeny

Abstract: Escherichia coli is a normal inhabitant of the intestinal tract of chickens, but when an imbalance in bacterial flora of the intestinal tract occurs, E. coli may over grow and cause extraintestinal infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the selection and transfer of E. coli clones and their antimicrobial resistant characters from broiler breeders to their progeny in absence or presence of an ongoing E. coli infection. Environmental samples and different organs of humanly euthanized broiler breeder were collected from group R1 and its sick progeny P1 (characterised by omphalitis symptoms) and from group R2 and its healthy progeny (P2). All samples were tested for the presence of E. coli and the isolates obtained were typed using XbaI Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis and EcoRI automated ribotyping. The 172 E.coli isolates were molecular discriminated into 90 XbaI PFGE types and 63 ribotypes. Five E. coli isolates from breeder R1and four from breeder R2 shared the same PFGE and/or ribotype with E. coli isolates from progeny P1 and P2. Interestingly E. coli strains isolated both in breeders and their progeny showed different antibiotic multiresistance profiles reinforcing the idea of a possible horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance determinant genes to and from these isolates.