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Understanding the Microbiology of Hen Housing Systems
Deana R. Jones, PhDEgg Safety and Quality Research UnitUSDA Agricultural Research Service
Athens, Georgia
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Collaborators
• Dr. Ken Anderson• Dr. Darrin Karcher• Dr. Jean Guard• Dr. Richard Gast
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Technical Team
• Stephen Norris• Robin Woodroof• Patsy Mason• Garrett Ward• Bradley Covington
• Tod Stewart• Cheryl Gresham• Rupa Guyrana
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Research Team
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Hen Housing Issues
• Quickly emerging for egg industry• Most research out of Europe• Differences between US and European egg
industry• Production practices and processing
guidelines based on conventional cage• Desired outcome:– Safe, high quality product to consumers
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Aerobic Plate Counts
• Indicator of general microbial populations
• Point of comparison• Higher in presence of
dust, feces, feed, and other high surface area contaminants
• 48h incubation
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Enterobacteriaceae
• Class containing most human pathogens
• Generally from fecal contamination
• Provide general view of fecal contamination and potential pathogen levels
• 24h incubation
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Salmonella
• Pathogen of concern for eggs
• Utilize pre-enrichment• Culture time: 5 days• Serotyping:– Utilize dkgB-linked ISR
methodology– Developed by Guard
(USDA-ARS, ESQRU)
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Campylobacter
• Human pathogen• Associated with feces• Concern for animal
agriculture• 72h incubation• Latex agglutination for
confirmation
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Listeria• L. monocytogenes human
pathogen• Can survive in
refrigerated temperatures
• Can infiltrate processing facilities– Very difficult to eradicate
• 6 days incubation• Serotyping via
biochemical test strips
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Housing System Microbial Impact Comparisons
• Eggs:– Shell and shell membrane pools– Egg content pools
• Environmental:– Swabs• Initially utilized sterile PBS; switched to evaporated
milk– Physical samples• Grass cuttings from forage area• Samples of alternative nestbox bedding materials• Fresh fecal droppings
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Conventional Cage and Free Range Production Systems
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Effect of Season on Aerobic Plate Count Levels
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Effect of Season on Coliform Levels
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Effect of Season on Yeast and Mold Levels
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Summary of Results
• Contents pools from all treatments were extremely low for all populations
• Dust from caged environment appears to increase aerobic bacterial levels on shells
• Cage eggs had substantially lower counts for coliform and yeast and mold
• Nest box eggs had the highest levels of all monitored populations during summer followed by fall
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Summary of Results
• Cage swabs and range grass aerobic levels remained fairly consistent across seasons
• Range grass coliform and yeast and mold levels were consistently high throughout all seasons
• Summer and fall nest box swabs were elevated for all populations monitored
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Effect of Season on the Prevalence of Campylobacter
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Effect of Season on the Prevalence of Listeria
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Effect of Season on the Prevalence of Salmonella
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Salmonella ssp. Detected
• Eighteen S. Typhimurium• S. Javiana– Floor egg shell
• S. Enteritidis– Range grass
• One PCR failure – not serotyped
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Summary of Results
• Significantly greater prevalence of Campylobacter in the nest box environment than range grass or cage swabs
• No significant difference in the prevalence of Listeria amongst treatments
• No significant difference in the prevalence of Salmonella amongst treatments
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Summary of Results
• Twenty-one Salmonella isolates were detected
• Eighteen were S. Typhimurium• One each of S. Javiana and S. Enteritidis• Salmonella Enteritidis was detected in the
production environment (range grass), but not in or on any eggs
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Laying Hen Strains and Various Production Systems
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Shell Emulsion Aerobic Plate CountsHy-Line Brown Hy-Line Silver Brown
Barred Plymouth Rock
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Shell Emulsion Enterobacteriaceae CountsHy-Line Brown Hy-Line Silver Brown
Barred Plymouth Rock
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Shell Emulsion Yeasts and Molds CountsHy-Line Brown Hy-Line Silver Brown
Barred Plymouth Rock
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Discussion
• As was seen before, season appears to affect microbial levels
• As was seen before, conventional cage eggs have overall highest level of aerobic organisms associated with the shell
• Altering nest box design appears to have influenced the production of free range floor eggs
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Summary of Results
• No pathogens detected in egg contents• No Listeria detected• Three Salmonella isolates were found– All Group B– All from cage free production– Each found in a separate sampling period
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Summary of Results
• Campylobacter was detected in three sampling periods
• Six isolates were detected– All three strains produced eggs externally
contaminated
• Four of the isolates came from the cage free environment– One isolate from free range– One isolate from conventional cage
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Discussion
• Floor eggs continue to be microbial concern– Should floor eggs be excluded from consumer
eggs?– Do we know enough to make this decision?
• The strains of laying hen produced eggs of varying microbial quality– Will some strains produce eggs of higher microbial
quality?– Are breeders considering production system/egg
microbial quality in selection process?– Is this necessary?
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Next?
• Continue to compare microbiological impact of housing systems
• Housing system impact on the colonization of laying strains with Salmonella
• Molting of alternative housing systems and food safety
• Understanding microbiological impacts of organic production