ABSTRACT
Another approach in some of the E.U. countries that has been used for many years is known as competitive exclusion. In Europe, adult chickens that are found to be free of Salmonella are thought to have competitive bacterial flora in their intestines that prevent colonization of the chicken with Salmonella. ’ese chickens are euthanized, and their intestinal tracts are removed. ’e lining of the intestines are scraped into a container (mucosal scrapings), and these bacteria are then grown in large containers to very high numbers. ’is solution is then sprayed onto the baby chicks to allow for colonization of their intestines with “good bacteria.” ’ese bacteria then colonize the baby chick’s intestines and prevent Salmonella from attaching. Also, these bacteria produce compounds that kill Salmonella. ’is approach is known as undefined competitive exclusion (because the bacteria in the mixture have not been identified and are unknown). ’is approach is illegal in the United States because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that all bacteria that are fed to baby chicks must be identified and characterized to ensure that none of them is pathogenic and none of them is antibiotic resistant. Because of this requirement, no commercially available undefined competitive exclusion products are allowed to be sold for Salmonella control during grow out.
