August 25, 2015

UK companies in partnership to develop campylobacter-reducing feed additive

A partnership between the UK's Banham Poultry and Akeso Biomedical has been established for the development of a feed additive that could mitigate the presence of campylobacter in chickens.

The process will be implemented with the use of an iron complex-based technology known as Fe3C that is created by Akeso at the University of Nottingham and able to prevent campylobacter binding in chicken gastro-intestinal tract.  

The first trials of two feed additives commenced in April this year, with preliminary studies showing that Typlex and Q-Plex reduced infection levels in chickens, according to Akeso.

"This is a really exciting project for the industry. To reduce levels of campylobacter, we need to take action throughout the supply chain," said Lars Brattinga, the general manager of agriculture at Banham Poultry. "We still don't know the source of campylobacter, which is what makes it so difficult to control. This feed additive could give us the tool we need to combat this bug."

Based in Norfolk, East of England, Banham is an integrated poultry processer that produces about 780,000 chickens weekly and has, as part of its operations, breeder and broiler farms, two hatcheries and a processing facility.