Safety management on the poultry farm Jungsoo Joo, University of Maryland, USA; Aishwarya Pradeep Rao, University of Maryland and University of Arizona, USA; and Debabrata Biswas, University of Maryland, USA

Flock health and infectious disease control, as well as meeting the demand of a growing and competitive market while adhering to high standards for the safety of products, are important for poultry farming, a key component of the US and global economies. The challenge to develop and implement management policies that most effectively focus on all the above and ensure a safe and secure egg and meat supply is even more complex than before due to the increasing concentration and intensification of poultry farming to meet burgeoning consumer demand. Furthermore, foodborne microbial pathogens transmitted via animals or animal products can result in disease outbreaks and human illnesses, and are primary food safety concerns (Goodwin and Shiptsova, 2002). According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), poultry are the primary reservoir for two major foodborne bacterial pathogens, Campylobacter and Salmonella (Hanning et al., 2010; Salaheen et al., 2014, 2015, CDC, 2015). Continuously assuring consumers that their poultry products are safe will thereby remain a persistent issue for the poultry industry for the foreseeable future.