Grant: Alliance Grants

Canada produces about 9 billion eggs/year. Periodic outbreaks of salmonellosis due to contaminated poultry products is a major human health challenge. Stricter regulations dictate reduction in antibiotics use in poultry production due to increasingly resistant bacteria, with food safety challenges. Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is the causative agent of colibacillosis in poultry, an economically important disease worldwide and throughout Canada, which causes significant morbidity and economic losses for producers each year. In Canada, APEC infection of layer flocks leads to elevated gut health issues and bird mortality in alternative caging (floor) production, where birds are not separated from their manure. Natural prebiotic alternatives will support the reduced use of antibiotics in poultry production. Among these, prebiotic feed supplements from seaweeds are an exciting option. Advanced processing of seaweeds to produce feed supplements with enhanced immune-modulating functions will be explored in this NSERC Alliance application, with co-funding by key Canadian poultry organizations: Canadian Poultry Research Council and Livestock Research Innovation Corporation, and Burnbrae Farms, a major Canadian egg producer. This study will develop new formulations of Canada-sourced red, brown, and green seaweeds using a combination of technologies such as physical / mechanical disruption, chemical extraction, and enzymatic hydrolysis, for improved performance, gut microbiome, immunity, and disease resistance in poultry. Formulations will be screened in vitro to evaluate effects on beneficial probiotic bacterial growth, as well as antimicrobial activity against Salmonella and APEC. The most active formulations will be tested as prebiotic feed supplements in laying hens, including Salmonella and APEC challenge studies. The goal of this research is to optimize novel prebiotic formulations from various seaweeds to supplement layer hen diets in order to improve performance, egg quality, gut microbiome and protection against pathogenic bacteria, which will enhance competitiveness of the Canadian egg producing industry and support food safety for the consumer.