RED DEER – Alberta poultry producers are moving toward a complete
on-farm food safety program.
The Alberta Chicken Producers, and the turkey and egg hatching
associations, have hired a food safety co-ordinator to help producers
implement their on-farm plans.
The organization hopes to have all producers trained by the end of the
year and a third of those validated.
“Anyone in business today is expected to have some sort of quality
assurance,” said chicken producer Reg Ference at the producers meeting
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The program is not mandatory, but in the future, processors may refuse
to accept chickens from farms without a certified food safety program.
The complete procedure is awaiting approval from the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency.
Program co-ordinator Angela Bork said the system follows the hazard
analysis critical control points program implemented by most processing
facilities and within other commodity groups.
She said producers need to understand food safety is part of a chain
starting with the brooder hen. It passes immunity or disease problems
on to the chicks. Hatcheries and feed mills, broilers, processors,
retail stores and consumers must also be diligent in controlling
bacteria like salmonella and E. coli by following established HACCP
principles.
Risks on the farm are varied.
Eliminating rodents is a major challenge on many farms. Mice carry
salmonella and one fecal pellet can contain up to 100,000 infectious
cells, 100 times what is needed to infect a human.
Farmers are advised to remove dead chickens daily and eliminate
bacterial breeding grounds by cleaning up standing water and manure.
Proper cleaning and disinfection between flocks is critical.
Camplyobacter can survive for three weeks in urine and five weeks in
feces. Salmonella survives for seven months in contaminated litter and
16 months in contaminated feed.
“These two bacteria are very sensitive to dry conditions so whenever
you clean or disinfect your barns, the most important thing is that you
dry out everything really well,” Bork said.
Fly control is necessary. Flies carry bacteria in their gut and expel
them through their feces and vomit.
People are the worst carriers of bacteria. Farmers are advised to have
a visitor signup sheet requesting names, addresses and phone numbers to
allow a traceback if disease occurs.
Shoes can carry considerable amounts of germs that can survive for long
periods. Clothing and hair can carry dust, dander and feathers.
Producers need to document in writing everything that happens on the
farm. Store medicines and chemicals in the original containers and keep
the two separate. Write out when and how barns were cleaned and
disinfected.
Once producers have taken the free workshops and implemented these
management practices, a validator makes a scheduled visit to the farm.
Full validation is required every three years followed by a partial
validation once a year when written records are checked.
Some Alberta producers are ready for validation this spring.
Alberta Chicken Producers has promised to pay for the first visit from
the validator.
