Organic food production has been increasing at a pace several times faster than that of the overall food supply. Some sectors are growing faster than others; dairy products typically have been the most popular organic foodstuffs in the supermarket, followed by fruits and vegetables. But organic broilers are coming on fast; according to the University of Arkansas, production grew by more than 16,500 percent in just six years, rising from 38,000 birds in 1997 to 6.3 million in 2003.
The University of Arkansas’ Center for Food Safety is taking part in two federally funded studies to identify potential hazards, as well as ways to mitigate them. Both projects involve multiple institutions; the Director of U of A’s Center for Food Safety, Dr. Steven C. Ricke, is a co-team leader of one of the projects, a study of pathogen suppression in birds raised organically and/or on pasture, and will help coordinate researchers at six schools and research facilities.
Two of the most feared food pathogens, salmonella and campylobacter, are found in the birds’ intestinal track. “There are certain things that can be used [to control pathogens] in commercial operations that can’t be used in organic, and so that’s where some of the issue is,” Ricke, a professor of Food Science, told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. Does diet play a role? “We don’t really know,” said Ricke. “The only thing we do know, and that was established a few years ago, is when feed is removed and the birds are in some sort of fasting, that can be an issue for pathogen establishment.”
There are some control measures that hold promise for both organic and conventional growers. Ricke’s research has found prebiotics, non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system, might be an effective control measure. Others his team hasn’t yet studied include probiotics, which are live microorganisms thought to be beneficial, and certain antimicrobial chemicals that are approved under the rules of USDA’s National Organic Program.
They’ll also be testing the effectiveness of antimicrobials that are applied post-mortem, and they intend to produce guidelines for good agricultural practices. Ricke said management practices that reduce stress in the birds can be a factor in lowering pathogens in the gut.
Ricke’s research has found drug resistant pathogens in both organic and conventionally raised poultry; he said that’s not necessarily a surprise, since resistant bacteria are also found in the environment. Resistance concerns have prompted poultry companies to shift their use of antimicrobials and also have in part driven consumer demand for organic products; Ricke said the presence of resistance pathogens in organic poultry is “a potential concern,” although producers have not necessarily encountered problems with their products.
He said more data is needed before it can be determined whether organically raised meat or poultry constitutes a greater or lesser food safety risk. “You really need fairly in depth, large numbers [of data] to make that kind of conclusion,” he said. In “the studies that we’ve done, as well as others, you’ll see both sides of it. You’ll see some indications there are more pathogens, but in other indications you’ll see less.”
The other project involves processing methods for pasture-raised poultry. It’s led by the University of Georgia, but U of A will conduct the in-field trials. The typical pasture producer raises about 1,500 birds a year and uses the mobile unit to process the birds, which are raised in open-air moveable pens or in free range environments. Ricke said, “There’s probably more manual labor involved in processing,” than there is in a large commercial processor. In addition, pasture raisers are also organic growers and are limited in what they can use as disinfectants and, of course, there are times of the year when raising chickens outdoors is not feasible.
He said other states involved in the project will study whether mobile processing units are more economically feasible than a central location. “Is transportation an issue?… If you have a unit out in the field, does that present any kind of environmental issues?”
Ricke said demand for organic food continues to grow, although the rate of growth has slowed with the economy. He said neither independent producers nor integrated companies in poultry-dense northwest Arkansas are interested in organic or pasture raised poultry at this time, “but there is probably growing interest in terms of ‘natural,’ which by definition is somewhat different than organic but operates under some of the same principles. There’s an overall interest, I think, in terms of what we would call more ‘green’ technologies for food production in general. This is one of those fields where I think with time you’re going to see some merging of applications and technologies between the two.”
