Dive Brief:
- Prebiotics could be a new solution to protect the commercial poultry supply against foodborne pathogens, particularly salmonella, according to a news briefing from ISOThrive emailed to Food Dive.
- Recent research found that poultry processors could supplement the diets of young broiler chickens with prebiotic-soluble fiber, which could reduce salmonella by 99%.
- Prebiotics also offer another alternative to using antibiotics when raising food animals.
Dive Insight:
The use of prebiotics as a dietary modulator and antibiotics alternative for broiler chicken feed isn't an entirely new idea. A 2009 study published in the World's Poultry Science Journal named several such alternatives, including prebiotics, fiber-degrading enzymes, probiotics, chemicals known as mannan-oligosaccharides and phytobiotics.
Probiotics, another antibiotics alternative, impact the microflora of an animal's gut, whether that's a human or broiler chicken. Both prebiotics and probiotics increase healthy gut bacteria while fighting pathogenic bacteria, without the same need for antibiotics.
Finding ways to reduce antibiotics usage for humans and the food supply through these types of alternatives could help health experts determine a better way to control the spread of superbugs.