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Conference Summary
Human Health Safety of Animal
Feeds Workshop
Vrinda N. Nargund*
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Suggested
citation for this article
Approximately 150 scientists attended the "Human Health Safety of
Animal Feeds" workshop at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) on January 23, 2004, to discuss issues pertaining to Salmonella-contaminated
animal feed and their impact on public health. The workshop followed an
article published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, which provided three
recommendations to reduce human foodborne disease caused by Salmonella-contaminated
animal feed (1). The first recommendation stressed the
need for microbial contamination surveillance to determine how feed contaminants,
particularly Salmonella, pass through the food chain. The second
recommendation was to establish hazard analysis and critical control point
programs to minimize Salmonella contamination by identifying and
controlling sources of feed contamination. The third recommendation was
to implement the Salmonella-negative standard in the feed industry.
The purpose of the workshop was to elicit discussion on these and other
recommendations concerning the human health safety of animal feed.
A variety of organizations were represented at the workshop, including
international government agencies, the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and consumer
groups. Speakers offered perspectives on bacterial contamination of animal
feed, including examples of human illnesses traced to Salmonella-contaminated
feed, and data showing how contaminated animal feed contributes to human
foodborne illness.
The opening plenary session focused on international experiences in controlling
Salmonella in animal feed. Officials from the National Veterinary
Institute of Sweden and the Norwegian Agriculture Inspection Service gave
an overview of the control measures implemented in Sweden and Norway to
ensure Salmonella-negative animal feed. Norway and Sweden have
extensive surveillance programs for Salmonella control in animal
feed. The measures implemented in Norway and Sweden are important contributing
factors to the virtual absence of Salmonella in the food supply
in their countries.
Several U.S. government agencies, including CDC; USDA; and the National
Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
presented research findings at the workshop. Presentations included results
from animal feed commodity studies that look at the factors contributing
to microbial pathogens, mycotoxins, and chemical residues in animal feed.
Researchers from FDA and Washington State University also provided data
indicating that contaminated animal feed continues to be a source of Salmonella
in food animals.
Further studies are necessary to document the precise contribution of
contaminated animal feed to human illness. Nevertheless, some presentations
suggest that practical interventions are available to reduce the prevalence
of Salmonella-contaminated animal feed. Collaboration among all
groups was stressed as a useful measure in controlling contaminated animal
feed in the future.
A compact disk, including all of the presentations, agenda, and list
of participants from the workshop, is available from Heather Bair (hhb9@cdc.gov).
The contents of the compact disk are also available online at http://www.cdc.gov/narms/mce/animalfeeds.htm.
Reference
- Crump J, Griffin PM, Angulo FJ. Bacterial
contamination of animal feed and its relationship to human foodborne
illness. Clin Infect Dis. 2002;35:859–65.
Suggested citation
for this article:
Nargund VN. Human health
safety of animal feeds workshop [conference summary]. Emerg Infect Dis
[serial on the Internet]. 2004 Dec [date cited]. Available from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no12/04-0987.htm
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