BACTERIAL CONTAMINANTS OF COMMERCIAL POULTRY FEEDS

ABSTRACT

Food poisoning and infection by bacterial and fungal genera pose obvious health threat to both animals and humans. The aim of this research was to evaluate bacterial contaminants associated with commercial poultry feeds sold in Ikot Ekpene main market. A total of three (3) commercially sold feed samples namely; Top feed, Vital feed and Guinea feed sold at Ikot Ekpene main market were used. Tenfold serial dilution was used as one (1) gram of each samples was homogenized in 9ml of distilled water, serially diluted and was cultured on MacConkey agar, Nutrient agar, Salmonella Shigella agar and Mannitol Salt agar using a pour plate method and incubated at 370C for 24 hours. After incubation several bacterial genera were observed which include Bacillus species, Staphyloccous aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella species. The total viable count of bacterial isolates from poultry feed samples revealed that Top feeds show a range of 1.5 x 102 to 2.3 x 103 cfu/g, Vital Feed ranged from 1.3 x 102 to 4.5 x 103cfu/g  while Guinea feed ranged from 1.9 x 102 to 2.9 x 103cfu/g while the percentage occurrence of the isolates showed that Staphylococcus aureus  42% showed the highest percentage occurrence followed by  Escherichia coli (27%), Bacillus species (19%) while Salmonella species (12%) showed the lowest percentage occurrence of the bacterial isolates. The socio-economic and health implication of these findings are enormous. Economically, the presence of these bacterial and fungal genera has been reported to over whelmingly affect the viability of some animal husbandry undertaking and agriculture in general. With the high colonization of bacteria and fungi of public health concern in poultry feeds, good manufacturing practice, handling and retailing methods need to be improved to enhance the microbiological quality of these products.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                                                                i

Certification                                                                                                                            ii

Dedication                                                                                                                               iii

Acknowledgements                                                                                                                iv

Table of Contents                                                                                                                   v

Lists of Tables                                                                                                                        viii

Abstract                                                                                                                                   x

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction                                                                                                                      1

1.1 Aim of Study                                                                                                                    5

1.1 Objectives                                                                                                                         5

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review                                                                                                             6

2.1 Importance of Poultry Products for Human Consumption                                               7

2.2Importance of hygienic measurements                                                                              7

2.3Sources of Contamination                                                                                                 8

2.3.1Ingredient contamination                                                                                                8

2.3.2 Storage (Temperature and Humidity)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     9

2.3.3 Handling and Transportation.                                                                                        9

2.4 Bacteria Contaminating Poultry Feeds                                                                             10

  2.4.1 Salmonella Contamination of Poultry Feed                                                                11

2.4.2Escherichia Coli                                                                                                                         12

2.4.3Klebsiella Species                                                                                                           12

2.4.4Proteus Species                                                                                                              13

2.4.5Bacillus Species                                                                                                              13

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Materials and Methods                                                                                                     15

3.1 Sample Collection                                                                                                            15

3.2 Media Used                                                                                                                       15

3.3 Sterilization                                                                                                                      15                                                       

3.4 Microbiological Analyses                                                                                                 15

3.5 Characterization and Identification of the Bacterial isolates                                           16

3.5.1 Gram Staining                                                                                                                16

3.5.2 Spore Staining                                                                                                               16

3.5.3 Motility                                                                                                                          17

3.6 Biochemical Test for Identification of Bacterial Isolate                                                  17

3.6.1 Catalase Test                                                                                                                  17

3.6.2 Coagulase Test                                                                                                               17

3.6.3 Citrate Test.                                                                                                                   17

3.6.4 Oxidase Test                                                                                                                   18

3.6.5 Indole Test                                                                                                                     18

3.6.6 Urease Test                                                                                                                    18

3.6.7 Methyl Red Test                                                                                                            19

3.7 Sugar Fermentation Test                                                                                                  19

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0       Results                                                                                                                        21       

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0       Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendation                                                          26       

5.1       Discussion                                                                                                                   26

5.2       Conclusion                                                                                                                  28

5.3       Recommendation                                                                                                       28

References                                                                                                                             

LIST OF TABLES

Table                      Title                                                    Page

1         Biochemical Characteristics of isolates                                                      22

2         Total Viable Count of Bacterial isolates from poultry feed samples         23

3         Percentage Occurrence of Bacterial Isolates                                              24

from Poultry Feed samples

      CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

Poultry refers to all birds that have been domesticated by man for egg laying or meat production. The birds include domestic fowl, turkey, guinea fowl, duck, geese, pigeons and ostriches (Barakat, 2004).Poultry feeds are food materials which referred as compete feed as they are designed to contain all the nutritional materials needed for proper growth, meat and egg production in raising poultry birds (Obi et al., 2007). Poultry feed are composed largely of grains including corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, wheat, barley, cake meal, peanuts and protein products of animal origin like fish meal, bone meal etc. (Arotupinetal., 2007). The protein contents of the feed vary depending on the purpose of keeping the births. The protein contents of 13%16%, 18% 21% and 23% is usually a standard measurement for chick’s marsh, grower marsh, broiler started and broiler finish respectively (Barakat, 2004).

Various brands of poultry feeds are in existence depending on the functions they perform in the birds. Thus there are starter, growers, finisher, and layers, among others. Poultry feeds can be contaminated directly and indirectly through contact with soil, rodent, birds, dust, human carrier, sewage or water during processing and storage by handling, mixing of ingredients and exposing the raw materials and fished products to the atmospheric microorganism (Ezekiel et al., 2011). Therefore, high rate of poultry disease and death occur as a result of consumption of contaminated feed and unpurified water (Onyeze et al., 2013). Type of feed processing and storage conditions are the factors that have an effect on the population levels and types of microorganism in the feed. Since long time has been known that infections agents can be transmitted to animals through feed contamination, as example, that non-Typhi serotype S. enterica could be transmitted to chicken through feed contaminated by faces of infected rodents (Wilson, 1948). Poultry feed which is exposed to faces of animals became a reason of human infection through chicken consumption. Poultry feeds can potentially become contaminated with food borne pathogenic microorganisms during harvesting, processing, handling and marketing of begged feeds (Chowdhuri et al., 2011). Poultry feed can serve as a carrier for a range of microbial contaminants such as moulds, mycotoxins and bacteria (Maciorowki et al., 2007). Poultry feeds contaminated with bacteria pathogenic to humans can contribute to human food borne illness through the feed-poultry-food-human chain. Prominent species in the poultry feeds include Bacillus, E. Coli, Salmonella, Enterobacter, Campulobacter,Clostridium and Lactobacillushave been shown to be of critical importance in tropical region like Bangladesh and others (Onyeze et al., 2013; Hossain et al., 2011; Nasrin et al., 2007).

Bacterial organisms affect the essential requirements of the body, such as water, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and protein. Thereby reducing the content of nutrients needed for the food to be palatable and easily digestible. (Talylor, 2007). Specifically, some of the additives have been incriminated amongst the principle source of bacteria of public health concern. (Ogbulie et al., 1998).

The safety and quality of poultry feeds are great subject in developed countries, that feed safety is an essential requirement for all animals. Unsafe feed may also cause great economic losses because of destroying an infected flock of birds. (Ahmed,  2002). Poultry feeds are formulated in other to meet the complex nutrient requirement of birds. Due to the simple digestive tract of birds and the intestinal flora making little contribution towards food digestion, it is necessary that poultry feed is complete (nutrients necessary for proper growth and egg production) and easily digestible. Materials for formulation of feeds are sourced from different origin both animals and plants and are mostly agro waste (Afolayan et al., 2008).Presence of microorganisms in the feed might be attribute to the normal flora of the feed, cross contamination or questionable waste quality. More so owing to the importance of probiotics there could be deliberate incorporation of these (Lactic acid bacteria) into the feed. Recently, nutritional factors and antibiotics such as bacitracin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chloritetracycline have been incorporated into poultry feed formulations usually at low (prophylactic) level to prevent minor disease and enhance efficient growth (Smith, 2005). The disease of poultry is like the disease of other animals. They may be caused by pathogenic organisms, nutritional deficiency and from wound or cannibalism. Some of the diseased associated with fowls locally include; Newcastle disease, chronic respiratory disease, fowl typhoid and fowl pox diseases. Livestock (poultry) get infected when pathogenic organism passes to the susceptible animal through feeding (Barnes et al., 2003). Various types of farm animal disease such as diarrhea diseases like bacillary dysentery, amoebic dysentery, fowl cholera, Staphylococosis, Colibacillosis, Salmonellosis etc, have been traced to the contamination of animal feed (Healing et al., 1991). A potential and more deadly hazard has been associated with the consumption of microbial toxin of bacterial and fungal origin in feed. Feed has been shown to be a major vector for transmission of salmonella and other bacteria to the farm and processing plant. Crump et al., (2002) compared the number of Salmonella serovars found in the feed mill of two integrated companies against those isolates found at their respective processing. The percentage isolates found at the processing plant and feed mill were 56.3% and 54.5% respectively. In a Danish study, looking at the health impact of contaminated feed, Hald et al., (2006) also found that 82 Salmonella serotypes were isolated from both production animals and humans, 45 of these were those isolated in feed. While attention has been focused on Salmonella, feed can also introduce other pathogens into the poultry house and food chain, such as Escherichia,coli Listeria, and Clostridia. Some authors have suggested that these bacteria in feed may be higher than that of Salmonella (White et al., 2003). High level of bacteria in feed have been shown to be associated with productivity problems in poultry (Tabib et al., 1981; Anderson et al., 1999) and this was that to be as a result of their effect on the gut. Ekperigin et al., (1990) reported that for successful control of Escherichia and Salmonella, feed must be exposed to a temperature of 85.7% because of the heat resistance of spore. The raising of poultry birds on commercial level requires large scale use of commercially prepared poultry feeds so as to satisfy the teeming population of humans that depend to great extent on the poultry by –products as their source of protein (Microlivestock, 1991). Commercial production of poultry feeds poses huge financial problems to the subsistence poultry farmers. Consequently, raising of poultry birds at commercial level continues to elude the local farmers as procurement of the feeds at the desired quantity is not a made-easy task. Interestingly, poultry feeds have been implicated in several poultry disease with varied pathological manifestations. The involvement of poultry feeds in the transmission of aflatoxicosis which is the most prevalent and economically significant mycotoxin is of great health concern to the poultry farmers and the extended consumers (Jordan et al., 1990). Aflatoxins are known to be present in poultry eggs and human disease like traveler’s Diarrhea and salmonella paratyphoid fever have been associated with the consumption of poultry birds that contracted the infections from contaminated poultry feeds.

The production of poultry feeds for local and commercial farmers in the developing country and commercial farmers in the developing countries including Nigeria requires above average microbiological safety regulations to escape microbiological contamination of the product.

To prevent pathogenic organisms from getting into the body of poultry, chemical disinfection should be used to control bacteria and prevent recontamination. Treatments with organic acid, organic salt and formaldehyde organic acid blend (Vanderval, 1979) demonstrated that a level in excess of 10kg/ tone of organic acid is needed to control bacterial levels satisfactorily. Control of bacteria in feed has been shown to improve production performance on poultry and to reduce the incidence of Salnonella in breeding animals in the farm environment in carcasses and in eggs. Also, attention should be given to the factors that influence their infectious spread. First and foremost, they should have disease-spreading stock clean rang, proper feeding and quarantining new stock. Sanitation is very important in poultry management by cleaning of their water can, feeding trough and finally disinfecting troughs to help reduce organic matter. Considering the health hazard posed to poultry and the unsuspecting consumers of such contaminated feeds and its overwhelming socio economic impact, it is pertinent to undertake this study. Therefore, this study was carried out to identify the bacterial isolates from poultry feeds.

1.1 Aim of Study

The aim of this research was to isolate and identify bacterial contaminants that are associated with commercial poultry feeds in Ikot Ekpene market.

1.1       Objectives

1. To identify and characterize bacteria isolated from poultry feed

2. To determine the percentage occurrence of these isolates

3. To determine the bacterial load in these samples

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