July 25, 2023

 

Phileo symposium in Italy looks at role of probiotics in sustainable poultry production

 

The vital role played by probiotics in maintaining an optimum poultry microbiome balance and the beneficial impact of the patented GO Technology® powered probiotic, Microsaf^®, on the successful development of sustainable poultry production were some of the highlights presented to around 100 poultry professionals during a satellite symposium at the 23rd European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition (ESPN) in Italy.

 

Organised by Phileo by Lesaffre, the event featured presentations by Dr. Ralph Rosenbaum, from IRTA Spain, Professor Todd Applegate from University of Georgia (US), Dr. Rober Kemperman from Lesaffre Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and Dr. Alain Riggi, Phileo's global poultry manager.

 

A keynote message from Dr. Rosenbaum centred on the application of a shared holistic strategy and action plan, designed in relation to the pursuit of sustainable poultry production.

 

Addressing the need to identify the right pathways to achieve a sustainable poultry industry, Dr. Rosenbaum took his audience through a series of scenarios based on where to start, if they were to achieve a big impact. Feed materials, nutritional solutions, manure management and energy were mentioned, with a clear focus placed on how making good choices in these areas might yield improvements in feed composition, daily growth rates, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and mortality.

 

Major take-home messages included the need for poultry producers and their industry partners to be wholly science-based in their decision-making and to continuously adapt to advances in knowledge. A caution was also conveyed to stakeholders that nobody can do sustainability on their own and that the best return on investment will be found where the big impacts are. The challenge is to find those impacts.

 

Professor Applegate followed with a review of the latest research outcomes on poultry microbiome balance, as studied in relation to the use of current turbulent feed materials.

 

Exploring the macro effects of microbial metabolites in broiler nutrition, the effect of indigestibility on intestinal and microbial response and the impact and role of probiotics in the sector, Professor Applegate drew particular attention to the vital relationship that exists between the maintenance of a balanced microbiome and successful poultry production.

 

In looking at the role of probiotics within production, meanwhile, he pointed out several proven benefits, including trial evidence that probiotic supplementation has been shown to reduce the cost of securing an immune response in poultry by 40%.

 

"Probiotics today, however, are not a commodity," he said, adding that all products are unique based on their selection criteria. Here again, the challenge for farmers and industry partners is to find the probiotics that work best within their own systems.

 

Dr. Kemperman explained the features and benefits of Phileo by Lesaffre's exclusive three-patent Germination Optimisation Technology^® (GO Technology^®), a state-of-the-art process designed to promote faster and stronger Bacillus spore germination. He explained that the GO Technology^® maximises the impact of Microsaf® within a short transit time of four to six hours, a time frame which has been proven to apply to most chickens.

 

The session concluded with a review by Dr. Riggi of an extensive range of trial results focusing on the effect of Microsaf® on sustainable poultry production and emphasising the efficacy of probiotics across such systems.

 

Explaining that some selected spore-forming bacteria probiotics boost resistance to the demands of today's production processes, while also delivering proven benefits after germination, he posed the key question of how poultry producers might deal with the fact that the average transition time within the poultry gut is just four to six hours. The challenge is to achieve maximum impact from spore-forming bacteria probiotics in the poultry gut during a short transition time, a task for which Microsaf^® was developed, based on a unique association of three different Bacillus species, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus, all carefully selected to deliver improvements in feed efficiency, gut function, and microbiota, and overall growth performance in birds.

 

Session delegates included poultry professionals from several countries, including India, China, Vietnam, the United States, Brazil, Argentina and EU nations.

 

- Phileo