Animal Production Industry Research Articles

Improving Chinese soybean meal demand estimation by addressing the non-commercial

Purpose – Two effects simultaneously shape the future soybean meal (SBM) demand in China: the income effect on meat consumption and the transition effect due to commercial feed usage in animal production. The income effect has been studied intensively in previous research and results in rapidly growing animal product consumption. The commercial feed transition effect, however, is not well understood. The accurate forecast of SBM demand requires an integration of both effects. This study aims to contribute to the commodity forecast literature: by estimating the non-commercial to commercial feed effect and then comparing to the income effect. Design/methodology/approach – This research addresses the gap in the literature by considering the diffusion path of commercial feeding technology when forecasting China's future SBM demand. The paper addresses the following five objectives to accomplish this goal. Objective 1: estimate income elasticity of demand for meat; Objective 2: estimate the current commercial feeding gap; Objective 3: analyze the reasons for low SBM feeding ratios; Objective 4: estimate future SBM feeding ratios; Objective 5: forecast future soybean demand in China. Findings – China needs 33 years from 2009 to achieve the SBM feeding ratio of 98 percent. The difference in future derived demand for SBM mainly comes from the transition effect of animal production industry in China. The income effect only contributes on average 2.1 percent of the theoretical SBM consumption quantity over the next 20 years. The feeding technology diffusion effect, however, causes an additional 3.6 percent annual compound growth rate on the demand increase for SBM over the same time periods. The livestock industry's transition effect is roughly equivalent to 1.5 times the income effect. Practical implications – Policy makers, industry managers, and analysts will now have not only a more accurate estimate of future SBM demand, but also a better understanding of the structural components of that estimation. In particular, the role of commercial feed adoption is explicitly estimated. Originality/value – This research is the first to estimate the effect of the shift from non-commercial to commercial feeding systems on overall SBM demand. The results show that not accounting for the diffusion of new commercial feeding technology creates under the estimates of future SBM demand.

Inputs of polychlorinated biphenyl residues in animal feeds

Animal nutrition constitutes an important issue for the animal production industry. Products intended for animal feed may contain undesirable substances which could endanger animal health or, because of their presence in livestock products, human health or the environment. In this sense, several incidents related with the presence of persistent organic pollutants, particularly with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have happen in food and feed additives. Animal feed and feed components are challenging matrices for the determination of residues and contaminants. The variability of these matrices is enormous. It ranges from relatively simple ones like those based on wheat to all kinds of by-products from agro and food industry, such as cereal oils.Firstly, this article reviews and addresses the extraction efficiency of ultrasonic assisted solvent extraction (UASE) and focused ultrasonic solvent extraction (FUSE) for determining selected PCBs in animal feed and ingredients. Detection of these pollutants was carried out by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to electron capture detection (ECD); tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used as confirmatory technique. Recoveries ranged from 70% to 98% by UASE and from 75% to 106% by FUSE with estimated quantification limits between 0.11 and 0.3μg/kg in feeds and ingredients and between 0.2 and 0.75μg/kg in fats.Once the method was optimised, it was applied to 18 feed samples as well as 16 ingredients. PCBs were detected in almost all the selected samples. As expected, the samples of animal origin as shell powder and fish oil showed the highest concentrations of 56 and 29ng/g, which are equivalent to toxicological concentrations of 123 and 18ng WHO-TEQDL-PCBs/kg, respectively. Feeds and ingredients from vegetable origin ranged from non-detected to 7.1μg/kg. PCB 77 and 169 were the discriminant congeners in the selected samples of feed and ingredients. Samples showed that the pattern of PCBs depends on the sources of contamination.

Compost Derived Substances Decrease Feed Protein N Mineralization in Swine Cecal Fermentation

Objectives of this study were to investigate urban biowastes as sustainable source of soluble biobased products (SBO) for use in animal diet and, possibly, to assess product chemical nature-performance relationships. Thus, five different materials sourced from biowastes processed by anaerobic and/or aerobic fermentation were treated to yield five different SBO. The products were first characterized for their chemical nature. Afterwards, they were tested as diet supplements to modulate pig’s cecal fermentation of a protein feed. In vitro fermentation of the protein feed was performed using the cecal content collected from slaughtered pigs as incubation liquor. The experimental plan comprised 29 treatments distributed over the 5 SBO used at 5-6 doses each in the 0.1-1.4% concentration range, compared to a SBO free control. During the 24 h in vitro fermentation, gas and liquor samples were analyzed for total gas volume vs. time production, and for ammonia and volatile fatty acids concentration. The results showed the investigated SBO to be significantly different for both their chemical composition and in their effects on the measured fermentation indicators. All materials showed significant effects already at the lowest 0.1% concentration. However the SBO isolated from composted residues decreased ammonia production, whereas the SBO isolated from the digestate of the food residues’ anaerobic treatment had the opposite effect. Ammonia production was found to be directly correlated with isobutyric and isovaleric production. The results clearly pointed out reduced proteolysis and N mineralization by 7-17% caused by compost sourced SBO. These findings have relevant implications for the economics and environmental impact of the animal production industry.

Mariculture: A global analysis of production trends since 1950

Abstract Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing global food animal production industries and, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), now accounts for nearly half of global food fish supply. This proportion is anticipated to grow in the coming decades as global capture fisheries continue to stagnate and global demand for seafood continues to rise. As the significance of aquaculture grows, the marine and brackish (‘mariculture’) subsector is of particular interest for analysis because of its growing influence on the development of global aquaculture and its known negative impacts on marine biodiversity and coastal health. In this context, and based on known global data limitations and past experience with fisheries and aquaculture statistics reported to the FAO, there is reason to independently verify the FAO's global database of mariculture production statistics. These data were therefore re-estimated and global mariculture production from 1950 to 2010 was GIS-mapped at a higher spatial resolution than available thus far. This new database indicates that, unlike for capture fisheries, the current understanding of historical global mariculture trends is reasonably accurate; however, some uncertainty remains in the accuracy of reported mariculture production statistics at the country level, most notably in China. Thus, mariculture statistics should still be used with caution. Finally, the new database independently confirms global ‘farming up the foodweb’, and briefly evaluates whether it is really the case that nearly half of all ‘fish’ consumed nowadays originate from aquaculture.

Serosurveillance for Livestock Pathogens in Free-Ranging Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Routine disease surveillance has been conducted for decades in mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in California for pathogens shared between wildlife and domestic ruminants that may have implications for the animal production industry and wildlife health. Deer sampled from 1990 to 2007 (n = 2,619) were tested for exposure to six pathogens: bluetongue virus (BTV), epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), Leptospira spp., Anaplasma spp. and Brucella spp. We evaluated the relationship between exposure to these pathogens and demographic risk factors to identify broad patterns in seroprevalence across a large temporal and spatial scale. The overall seroprevalence for the entire study period was 13.4% for BTV, 16.8% for EHDV, 17.1% for BVDV, 6.5% for Leptospira spp., 0.2% for Brucella spp., and 17% for Anaplasma spp. Antibodies against BTV and EHDV were most prevalent in the deer populations of southern California. Antibodies against Leptospira spp. and Anaplasma spp. were most prevalent in coastal and central northern California whereas antibodies against BVDV were most prevalent in central-eastern and northeastern California. The overall seroprevalence for Anaplasma spp. was slightly lower than detected in previous studies. North and central eastern California contains large tracts of federal land grazed by livestock; therefore, possible contact between deer and livestock could explain the high BVDV seroprevalence found in these areas. Findings from this study will help to establish baseline values for future comparisons of pathogen exposure in deer, inform on long-term trends in deer population health and provide relevant information on the distribution of diseases that are shared between wildlife and livestock.

Comparative proteomic analysis of Salmonella tolerance to the biocide active agent triclosan

Concern has been expressed about the overuse of biocides in farm animal production and food industries. Biocide application can create selective pressures that lead to increased tolerance to one or more of these compounds and are concomitant with the emergence of cross-resistance to antibiotics. A triclosan sensitive Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and the isogenic triclosan tolerant mutant were studied at the proteomic level in order to elucidate cellular mechanisms that facilitate biocide tolerance. 2-D differential fluorescent gel electrophoresis (DIGE) compared protein profiles of parent and mutant Salmonella, in the presence and absence of triclosan. Differentially expressed proteins were identified by mass spectrometry and divided into two groups: Group A describes proteins differentially expressed between susceptible and triclosan tolerant Salmonella and includes the known triclosan target FabI which contained a mutation at the triclosan target binding site. Group B identified proteins differentially expressed in response to triclosan exposure and defines a general cell defence network. Only four proteins were common to both groups highlighting the diverse range of pathways employed by Salmonella to counteract biocides. These data suggest that sub-lethal concentrations of triclosan induce discernible changes in the proteome of exposed Salmonella and provide insights into mechanisms of response and tolerance.

Evaluation for the Safety of Bee Venom in ICR Mice

This study was carried out to examine the safety of a bee venom as an alternatives for antibiotics using male ICR mice. Five-week-old male mice were injected singly with a dried honey bee venom at the concentration of 0.25 mg/kg (a clinical dose) or 0.5 mg/kg intravenously through tail vein and various pathophysiological analyses were performed after 3 days. There were no significant differences in changes of body weight between saline-treated control group and the experimental groups. In the hematological analysis, none of the parameters were affected by bee venom. In blood biochemistry analysis, none of the markers were affected by administration of bee venom. Similarly, there were no significant effects on markers for liver, kidney and skeletal muscle functions in all treated-groups. No remarkable lesions were detected in these organs with macroscopic examination. Since there were no adverse effects of the bee venom in a single intravenous toxicity test for 3 days, it was concluded that bee venom could be a candidate for a safe natural antibiotics in the animal production industry.

Feed Ingredients Mainly Contributing to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and Polychlorinated Biphenyl Residues

Animal nutrition constitutes an important issue for the animal production industry. Products intended for animal feed may contain undesirable substances which could endanger animal health or, because of their presence in livestock products, human health or the environment. In this sense, several incidents related with the presence of persistent organic pollutants, particularly with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), have happen in food and feed additives. Simple, fast, quantitative, and economic methods for determining PAHs and PCBs in potentially polluting feed ingredients were developed and evaluated. The methods involved liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), clean-up, and detection by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FD) for PAHs and gas chromatography (GC) coupled to electron capture detection (ECD) for PCBs, using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) as confirmatory technique. The overall method quantification limits range from 0.020– 4.0 μg/Kg for PAHs and from 0.20–0.75 μg/Kg for PCBs, analyte recoveries are between 70 and 105% with relative standard deviations (RSD) lower than 20%. Once the method was optimized, it was applied to 25 feed ingredients considered as potential candidates for feedstuff. As expected, the samples of animal origin as shell powder and fish oil showed the highest PCB concentrations of 56 and 29 ng/g, which are equivalent to toxicological concentrations of 123 and 18 ng WHO-TEQDL-PCBs/Kg, respectively. Opposite results were obtained with PAHs and the highest PAH4 levels were detected alfalfa (47 μg/Kg), calcium phosphate (27 μg/Kg), and palm oil (23 μg/Kg) used as feed ingredients.

Solexa Sequencing Identification of Conserved and Novel microRNAs in Backfat of Large White and Chinese Meishan Pigs

The domestic pig (Sus scrofa), an important species in animal production industry, is a right model for studying adipogenesis and fat deposition. In order to expand the repertoire of porcine miRNAs and further explore potential regulatory miRNAs which have influence on adipogenesis, high-throughput Solexa sequencing approach was adopted to identify miRNAs in backfat of Large White (lean type pig) and Meishan pigs (Chinese indigenous fatty pig). We identified 215 unique miRNAs comprising 75 known pre-miRNAs, of which 49 miRNA*s were first identified in our study, 73 miRNAs were overlapped in both libraries, and 140 were novelly predicted miRNAs, and 215 unique miRNAs were collectively corresponding to 235 independent genomic loci. Furthermore, we analyzed the sequence variations, seed edits and phylogenetic development of the miRNAs. 17 miRNAs were widely conserved from vertebrates to invertebrates, suggesting that these miRNAs may serve as potential evolutional biomarkers. 9 conserved miRNAs with significantly differential expressions were determined. The expression of miR-215, miR-135, miR-224 and miR-146b was higher in Large White pigs, opposite to the patterns shown by miR-1a, miR-133a, miR-122, miR-204 and miR-183. Almost all novel miRNAs could be considered pig-specific except ssc-miR-1343, miR-2320, miR-2326, miR-2411 and miR-2483 which had homologs in Bos taurus, among which ssc-miR-1343, miR-2320, miR-2411 and miR-2483 were validated in backfat tissue by stem-loop qPCR. Our results displayed a high level of concordance between the qPCR and Solexa sequencing method in 9 of 10 miRNAs comparisons except for miR-1a. Moreover, we found 2 miRNAs, miR-135 and miR-183, may exert impacts on porcine backfat development through WNT signaling pathway. In conclusion, our research develops porcine miRNAs and should be beneficial to study the adipogenesis and fat deposition of different pig breeds based on miRNAs.

Intestinal microbiota associated with differential feed conversion efficiency in chickens

Analysis of model systems, for example in mice, has shown that the microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract can play an important role in the efficiency of energy extraction from diets. The study reported here aimed to determine whether there are correlations between gastrointestinal tract microbiota population structure and energy use in chickens. Efficiency in converting food into muscle mass has a significant impact on the intensive animal production industries, where feed represents the major portion of production costs. Despite extensive breeding and selection efforts, there are still large differences in the growth performance of animals fed identical diets and reared under the same conditions. Variability in growth performance presents management difficulties and causes economic loss. An understanding of possible microbiota drivers of these differences has potentially important benefits for industry. In this study, differences in cecal and jejunal microbiota between broiler chickens with extreme feed conversion capabilities were analysed in order to identify candidate bacteria that may influence growth performance. The jejunal microbiota was largely dominated by lactobacilli (over 99% of jejunal sequences) and showed no difference between the birds with high and low feed conversion ratios. The cecal microbial community displayed higher diversity, and 24 unclassified bacterial species were found to be significantly (<0.05) differentially abundant between high and low performing birds. Such differentially abundant bacteria represent target populations that could potentially be modified with prebiotics and probiotics in order to improve animal growth performance.

In silico whole-genome EST analysis reveals 2322 novel microsatellites for the silver-lipped pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima

Molecular stock improvement techniques such as marker assisted selection have great potential in accelerating selective breeding programmes for animal production industries. However, the discovery and application of trait/marker associations usually requires a large number of genome-wide polymorphic loci. Here, we present 2322 unique microsatellites for the silver-lipped pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima, a species of aquaculture importance throughout the Indo-Australian Archipelago for production of the highly valued South Sea pearl. More than 1.2 million Roche 454 expressed sequence tag (EST) reads were screened for microsatellite repeat motifs. A total of 12,604 sequences contained either a di, tri, tetra, penta or hexa microsatellite repeat motif (n ≥ 6), with 6435 of these sequences having sufficient flanking regions for primer development. All identified microsatellites with designed primers were condensed into 2322 unique clusters ( i.e., unique loci) of which 360 were shown to be polymorphic based on multiple sequence reads with different repeat motifs. Genotyping of five microsatellite loci demonstrated that in silico evaluation of polymorphism levels was a very useful method for identification of polymorphic loci, with the variation uncovered being a lower bound. Gene Ontology annotations of sequences containing microsatellites suggest that most are derived from a diverse array of unique genes. This EST derived microsatellite database will be a valuable resource for future studies in genetic map construction, diversity analysis, quantitative trait loci analysis, association mapping and marker assisted selection, not only for P. maxima, but also closely related species within the genus Pinctada.

Escherichia colifrom animal reservoirs as a potential source of human extraintestinal pathogenicE. coli

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) are an important cause of urinary tract infections, neonatal meningitis and septicaemia in humans. Animals are recognized as a reservoir for human intestinal pathogenic E. coli, but whether animals are a source for human ExPEC is still a matter of debate. Pathologies caused by ExPEC are reported for many farm animals, especially for poultry, in which colibacillosis is responsible for huge losses within broiler chickens. Cases are also reported for companion animals. Commensal E. coli strains potentially carrying virulence factors involved in the development of human pathologies also colonize the intestinal tract of animals. This review focuses on the recent evidence of the zoonotic potential of ExPEC from animal origin and their potential direct or indirect transmission from animals to humans. As antimicrobials are commonly used for livestock production, infections due to antimicrobial-resistant ExPEC transferred from animals to humans could be even more difficult to treat. These findings, combined with the economic impact of ExPEC in the animal production industry, demonstrate the need for adapted measures to limit the prevalence of ExPEC in animal reservoirs while reducing the use of antimicrobials as much as possible.

Study of a wireless multimodal sensing system integrated with an electrical conductivity sensor and a temperature sensor for the health control of cows

AbstractImproved technology for the real‐time, continuous monitoring of health of the animals is an important requirement for the animal production industry. We have studied a multimodal sensor consisting of integrated electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature sensors, a wireless unit, and some circuit boards. We measured the information relayed by the integrated sensor located at several positions within the first stomach (known as ‘the rumen’) in cows. The wireless unit was able to simultaneously monitor the EC and temperature sensors. The results of these tests showed that the developed unit is a useful tool, since the data obtained were reasonable. We then measured the RF field strength as a function of the distance between the wireless unit and the antenna. We calculated the performance that is required in terms of the received power to accurately transmit results from the rumen. We confirmed that the unit could achieve the necessary performance to send data from the rumen to the receiver. We could also find a criterion for the amount of RF power necessary for successful measurements from rumen. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc.

The Influence of MHC and Immunoglobulins A and E on Host Resistance to Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Sheep

Gastrointestinal nematode parasites in farmed animals are of particular importance due to their effects on production. In Australia, it is estimated that the direct and indirect effects of parasite infestation cost the animal production industries hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The main factors considered by immunologists when studying gastrointestinal nematode infections are the effects the host's response has on the parasite, which immunological components are responsible for these effects, genetic factors involved in controlling immunological responses, and the interactions between these forming an interconnecting multilevel relationship. In this paper, we describe the roles of immunoglobulins, in particular IgA and IgE, and the major histocompatibility complex in resistance to gastrointestinal parasites in sheep. We also draw evidence from other animal models to support the involvement of these immune components. Finally, we examine how IgA and IgE exert their influence and how methods may be developed to manage susceptible animals.

Odor Index: An Integration of Odor Parameters for Swine Slurry Odors

In the animal production industry, manure odors can be a potential nuisance to neighboring residents. A more suitable metric other than odor concentration and intensity is required to evaluate odor dispersion or to evaluate on-farm odor-reducing technologies. An odor parameter was developed to better describe odor by integrating odor concentration, odor intensity, and hedonic tone values into an odor index. In order to mathematically define the odor index, an assumption was made that the odor index is equivalent to the geometric mean of odor intensity and hedonic tone. The mathematical models for the relationships of odor intensity versus odor concentration, hedonic tone versus odor concentration, and odor index versus odor concentration were determined based on the analysis of stored pig slurry headspace odor. The models showed that odor intensity increased as a power function of odor concentration with an exponent of 0.39, while odor index and hedonic tone decreased as a power function of odor concentration with the same exponent.

Limitations on the Confinement of Food Animals in the United States

Citizen petitions and legislative bills in seven states in the US have established space and movement limitations for selected species of farm animals. These actions show Americans becoming concerned about the humane treatment of confined farm animals, and willing to use governmental intervention to preclude existing confinement practices. The individual state provisions vary, including the coverage of species. All seven states deal with sow-gestation crates, five states address veal calf crates, and two states’ provisions also apply to battery cages used for egg-laying hens. The actions show citizen and legislative opposition to current animal production practices, and suggest a movement to provide better treatment for farm animals. Accompanying the actions are challenges for animal production industries in remaining competitive while meeting social expectations on the ethical treatment of food animals. While the actions are only a small step in addressing welfare issues, they may be the beginning of a significant movement to do more to address human and animal welfare issues.

Demonstration of alternative feeds for the Pacific white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei, reared in low salinity waters of west Alabama

AbstractThe replacement of marine proteins with vegetableproteins orterrestrialanimalbyproductsinaquacul-ture diets has been gaining momentum. This studyexamines the viability of replacing ¢sh meal inshrimp production diets with alternative proteinsources (combinations of vegetable proteins) in in-land low salinity waters of west Alabama. The testdiets were formulated to contain 36% protein and8% lipid.Thebasaldietcontained10% ¢sh meal.The¢sh meal was then replaced (on a weight to weightbasis) with poultry meal (PM), pea meal or distiller’sdried grain with solubles (DDGS). Two separate ex-periments (laboratory trial and farm trial) were de-vised to test the e⁄cacy of the diets for Litopenaeusvannamei reared in low salinity waters. The labora-tory trial was conducted at the E.W. Shell FisheriesResearchStationinAuburn,Alabama,USA,whereasthefarmtrialexaminedthesamedietsinanoutdoor£ow-throughsystematalowsalinityshrimpfarm inwest Alabama. Results indicate no signi¢cant diier-encesinshrimpgrowth,weightgain,survivalorfeedconversion ratio among dietary treatments, suggest-ing that PM, pea meal and DDGS can serve as alter-natives to ¢sh meal as a protein source for shrimpreared in lowsalinityenvironments.Keywords: poultry meal, distiller’s dried grainwithsolubles,peameal,lowsalinity,¢shmeal,Lito-penaeusvannameiIntroductionFarmers of the Paci¢c white shrimp Litopenaeus van-nameiin inland lowsalinity wellwaters (LSWW) arefaced with the challenge of rearing animals in lessthan ideal environments (Saoud, Davis & Rouse2003; Roy, Davis, Saoud & Henry 2007a,b). Depend-ingontheirsource,inlandLSWWavailabletocultureshrimp can be of varied ionic composition and sali-nity (Boyd & Thunjai 2003; Saoud et al. 2003). Ionicimbalances, which are often found in LSWW, cangenerallybe solvedthroughadditionsof speci¢c ions(e.g. K and Mg) to culture water (McGraw & Scarpa2003; Roy etal.2007a).CommercialfarmersutilizinginlandLSWWare mitigating theproblemby increas-ing levels of Kand Mg in their pond waters throughthe addition of muriate of potash and/or KMag(McNevin, Boyd, Silapajarn & Silapajarn 2004). Un-fortunately,addinglargeamountsofagriculturalfer-tilizers to ponds is an additional expense to inlandfarmers. Increased production costs, competitionfromforeignmarketsandtheincreasingcostofdieselfuelareadditional burdens onfarmers.The cost of feed generallyaccounts for 50^60% oftotal production costs and, thus, west Alabamashrimpfarmers are interested in reducing feed costs.One strategy to reduce feed costs is by reduction in¢sh meal with alternative plant and animal proteinsources.Fishmealis consideredamongthemostsui-table protein sources for shrimp feeds. In spite of itsimportance, a considerable reduction in the use of¢sh meal is expected in the near future. Among thechief concerns include limited availability, variablesupply and cost. Given the growing demand by ani-mal production industries for ¢sh meal and its lim-ited supply, prices are likely to continue to increase,therefore, restraining future use as the main proteinsource in shrimp feeds. Likewise, emerging environ-mental and safety issues associated with the use of

The Environmental and Public Health Risks Associated with Arsenical Use in Animal Feeds

Arsenic exposures contribute significantly to the burden of preventable disease worldwide, specifically related to increased risks of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Most exposures are associated with natural contamination of groundwater, which is difficult to mitigate when these sources are used for drinking water. An anthropogenic source of arsenic exposure stems from the widespread use of arsenical drugs in food-animal production in the United States and China, among many countries. This use results in residual contamination of food products from animals raised with the drugs, as well as environmental contamination associated with disposal of wastes from these animals. Land disposal of these wastes can contaminate surface and ground water, and the conversion of animal wastes into fertilizer pellets for home use as well as the introduction of animal waste incinerators may increase opportunities for exposure. As an intentional additive to animal feed, use of arsenical drugs is a preventable source of human exposure. The domestic practice of using these drugs in poultry production has been the subject of media attention and limited research, though the use of these drugs in domestic swine production and in the rapidly growing foreign animal production industry remains largely uncharacterized. This continued expansion of arsenical drug use may likely increase the burden of global human arsenic exposure and risk.

Aflatoxin B1 Degradation by Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia and Other Microbes Selected Using Coumarin Medium

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most harmful mycotoxins in animal production and food industry. A safe, effective and environmentally sound detoxification method is needed for controlling this toxin. In this study, 65 samples were screened from various sources with vast microbial populations using a newly developed medium containing coumarin as the sole carbon source. Twenty five single-colony bacterial isolates showing AFB1 reduction activity in a liquid culture medium were selected from the screen. Isolate 35-3, obtained from tapir feces and identified to be Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, reduced AFB1 by 82.5% after incubation in the liquid medium at 37 °C for 72 h. The culture supernatant of isolate 35-3 was able to degrade AFB1 effectively, whereas the viable cells and cell extracts were far less effective. Factors influencing AFB1 degradation by the culture supernatant were investigated. Activity was reduced to 60.8% and 63.5% at 20 °C and 30 °C, respectively, from 78.7% at 37 °C. The highest degradation rate was 84.8% at pH 8 and the lowest was only 14.3% at pH 4.0. Ions Mg2+ and Cu2+ were activators for AFB1 degradation, however ion Zn2+ was a strong inhibitor. Treatments with proteinase K, proteinase K plus SDS and heating significantly reduced or eradicated the degradation activity of the culture supernatant. The results indicated that the degradation of AFB1 by S. maltophilia 35-3 was enzymatic and could have a great potential in industrial applications.

ASAS Centennial Paper: Developments and future outlook for preharvest food safety1

The last century of food animal agriculture is a remarkable triumph of scientific research. Knowledge derived through research has resulted in the development and use of new technologies that have increased the efficiency of food production and created a huge animal production and food manufacturing industry capable of feeding the US population while also providing significant quantities of high-quality food for export to other countries. Although the US food supply is among the safest in the world, the US Center for Disease Prevention and Control estimates that 76 million people get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die each year from foodborne illness. Consequently, preventing foodborne illness and death remains a major public health concern. Challenges to providing a safe, abundant, and nutritious food supply are complex because all aspects of food production, from farm to fork, must be considered. Given the national and international demand and expectations for food safety as well as the formidable challenges of producing and maintaining a safe food supply, food safety research and educational programs have taken on a new urgency. Remarkable progress has been made during the last century. Wisdom from a century of animal agriculture research now includes the realization that on-farm pathogens are intricately associated with animal health and well-being, the production of high-quality food, and profitability. In this review, some of the developments that have occurred over the last few decades are summarized, including types, sources, and concentrations of disease-causing pathogens encountered in food-producing animal environments and their association with food safety; current and future methods to control or reduce foodborne pathogens on the farm; and present and future preharvest food safety research directions. Future scientific breakthroughs will no doubt have a profound impact on animal agriculture and the production of high-quality food, but we will also be faced with moral, ethical, and societal dilemmas that must be reconciled. A strong, science-based approach that addresses all the complex issues involved in continuing to improve food safety and public health is necessary to prevent foodborne illnesses. Not only must research be conducted to solve complex food safety issues, but results of that research must also be communicated effectively to producers and consumers.