A Comparison Survey of Organic and Conventional Broiler Chickens for Infectious Agents Affecting Health and Food Safety

Abstract

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to evaluate the health status of organic broiler chickens and the contamination rate with Salmonella and Campylobacter in organic broiler production in Belgium. The broilers were screened for antibodies against routinely monitored poultry diseases at 1 day old and at slaughter. Fecal examination for the presence of worm eggs was done at slaughter. Bacteriological examination for the detection of Salmonella and Campylobacter was performed at day 1, week 2, week 4, week 7, week 10, and slaughter. Conventional broilers of the same poultry integration and reared in the same geographic area were also screened and served as reference. Serologic data indicated lower antibody titers against infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease in organic flocks. No significant differences could be found in prevalence of Salmonella between organic and conventional broilers at slaughter. In contrast, Campylobacter infections at slaughter were significantly higher in organic flocks. Organic flocks most probably become infected with Campylobacter between week 7 and week 10. Worm eggs were found in neither the organic flocks nor the conventional flocks. In conclusion, there are indications that the respiratory health status is better in organic broilers but that organic flocks are more often infected with Campylobacter than are conventional flocks.

Comparison of growth performance and carcass traits of Japanese quails reared in conventional, pasture, and organic conditions

“…When comparing the meat from broilers raised in organic and conventional systems in terms of flavor and some quality features, consumers found organic poultry to be more savory (MacRae et al, 2007;Yurtseven and Şengül, 2009). In other experiments, meat from slow-growing broilers was tastier than that from fast-growing broilers raised in conventional systems (Culioli et al, 1990;Overbeke et al, 2006;Castellini et al, 2002b).…”

Population Dynamics of Salmonella enterica Serotypes in Commercial Egg and Poultry Production

“…When data from nonconventional (organic, free-range, etc.) and conventional farms are compared, Salmonella prevalence is dependent on the individual farm and not the farming system (4,32,118). Regardless of contamination levels, Salmonella serovars dominating conventional production systems also dominate nonconventional systems (79,89,118).…”

Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Organically and Naturally Raised Beef Cattle

“…in dairy cattle (7,14) and Campylobacter and Salmonella spp. in chickens (6,19), has been studied previously. However, there is no published study on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in organically and naturally raised beef cattle.…”