Control of salmonella infections in broiler chickens by the acid treatment of their feed

In three experiments a solution of formic acid (Bioadd) was added to feed 'naturally' contaminated with salmonellas. In two of them no salmonella infections were demonstrated in broiler chickens given feed containing 0.6 per cent (w/w) of the formic acid solution for seven weeks and in the third the infection rate was reduced considerably. In four other experiments the feed was contaminated artificially with between 1 and 47 Salmonella kedougou/g and a second product (BPO12), consisting of a mixture of formic acid and propionic acid, was evaluated. When it was added at 0.5 to 0.68 per cent (w/w) only one of 30 groups of 10 to 12 birds became infected with S kedougou by two weeks of age, compared with 22 of 27 control groups. The treatment of the feed with BPO12 one week before the addition of the salmonellas prevented the establishment of infection in chicks given the treated feed, indicating that acid treatment will provide protection against subsequent recontamination of the feed with the organisms. The isolation rate of S kedougou from artificially contaminated feed treated with BPO12 was reduced only slightly but the feed was apparently 'safe' for the birds which consumed it.