Analysis of the Presence of Clostridium perfringens in Feed and Raw Material Used in Poultry Production

Microbiological control of feeds used in industrial poultry production has been increasingly important due to the demands of the market for food safety, as well as the need to ensure better quality of the digestive system of the birds. Microbiological analysis carried out in raw material used in feed production, especially feather, meat, and organ meal, has shown contamination by Clostridium perfringens. In order to study the presence of Clostridium perfringens, a total of 354 samples of feed and raw material were analyzed from January 2011 to July 2013. Samples came from four companies located in the state of Sao Paulo, with a total of 166 samples of meat meal, 24 samples of feather meal, 43 samples of organ meal, and 121 samples of feed. The following results were obtained: 88 (53%), 15 (62.5%), 16 (37.21%), and 23 (19%) samples were positive for Clostridium perfringens in each group of samples, respectively, with counts ranging from 2.0 10 super( 2) to 7.0 10 super( 3) CFU/g.