Effects of using a chicken-origin competitive exclusion culture and probiotic cultures on reducing Salmonella in broilers

Three commercial products, a partially defined chicken-origin competitive exclusion culture (Aviguard, 0.50 mL/chick) and 2 single-organism probiotic cultures (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Levucell SC, 1 g/kg of feed, and Pediococcus acidilactici, Bactocell, 100 mg/kg of feed) were evaluated for their ability to reduce Salmonella in broilers and their effects on production performance. It was found that all the treatments significantly (P < 0.05) reduced Salmonella concentrations, as compared with the control, on the chicken, in the ceca, and on the chicken carcass. In addition, it was found that these treatments had no adverse effect on any of the production parameters that were measured. Finally, this study showed the importance of using these preharvest treatments as part of an integrated program to control Salmonella at the broiler farm.