March 14, 2024

 

Belgium joins pilot project to enhance salmonella testing accuracy in poultry

 

Belgium has entered a pilot project initiated by the Netherlands aimed at assessing the precision of salmonella testing in poultry flocks, announced Animal Health Care Flanders (DGZ), Food Safety News reported.

 

Under this initiative, which received approval from the European Commission, Belgium will adopt the testing protocol pioneered by the Netherlands to ensure consistency in results, DGZ stated.

 

The project seeks to address concerns arising from stricter regulations introduced since 2020, which limit the scope for confirmation testing in European countries like Belgium, particularly regarding initial positive salmonella results in poultry flocks.

 

Previously, confirmation tests could be conducted following a positive salmonella finding, but recent regulations restrict such tests to cases where the initial positive result is deemed unreliable.

 

The Dutch study aims to validate the accuracy of initial salmonella test results and the reliability of subsequent verification tests, with the goal of providing greater certainty regarding the presence or absence of Salmonella in poultry flocks.

 

The poultry sector has advocated for the reintroduction of verification testing, citing the significant repercussions of positive findings and associated control measures.

 

In the Netherlands, poultry farmers meeting specific criteria can participate in the project, allowing for additional sampling and testing to confirm or refute salmonella suspicions under certain conditions.

 

Participating farmers undergo sampling by NVWA inspectors, with initial and subsequent samples analysed for salmonella by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR).

 

In Belgium, upon the detection of certain salmonella strains, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) notifies poultry farmers about the project's eligibility criteria and participation conditions.

 

Upon agreement to participate, DGZ officers conduct sampling across all stables at the location, with subsequent sampling performed by the company veterinarian and samples analysed at the DGZ laboratory.

 

-      Food Safety News