Treatment of Animal Feeds with Ionizing Radiation: VI. Technological and Economic Feasibility of Poultry Feed Radicidation

Salmonella contamination of farm animals in Israel has increased significantly, particularly on poultry farms, and is causing severe losses and a high incidence of infected poultry products. EEC regulations regarding poultry meat require rejection of batches containing salmonella microorganisms. Feed flour is considered to be one of the principal sources of contamination and effective treatment of the feed is one of the most important steps in reducing flock contamination. The Israel authorities have passed a new regulation requiring breeders to buy only salmonella-free poultry feed. Salmonella-free poultry feed can be produced by pelletization or by treatment with ionizing radiation, using gamma or electron sources. From the view point of radicidation both types of radiation are equally effective. Both types of sources are suited to on-line treatment of products in feed mills, but each has its advantages and disadvantages in practice. Whereas gamma irradiation facilities will allow thick layers of product, they require considerable shielding and nearly continuous operation to be economically justifiable. The low energy electron accelerators allow treatment of flour only (pellets cannot be treated), but are easily adaptable to the fluctuating flow of products in a feed mill, at relatively low treatment cost. Breeders, contrary to broilers, require feed flour and not pellets. Hence electron irradiation would tend to yield a product more in compliance with the new regulation than pelletization, which requires crushing and which may leave Salmonella in the feed. The economic feasibility of an electron accelerator-based radicidation process in an existing feed mill is examined. (author)