TO ALL TURKEY GROWERS
WHO USE PROCESSING PLANTS TO PROCESS THEIR TURKEYS
Salmonella testing of turkey flocks
Dear Sir/Madam
There are new compulsory requirements
in place for Salmonella testing of both breeding and slaughter turkeys. These
are part of an EU wide initiative to reduce Salmonella levels in poultry. If you do not use a
processing plant than this legislation does not
apply to you.
What you have to do
now -
If you have a flock for slaughter you are required to
sample the flock three weeks before the flock moves to slaughter.
Samples should be
sent by express mail or courier service within twenty-four hours of collection
to any of the approved laboratories that are listed in this letter.
You must keep records
of sampling on farm for a minimum of three years to include the date the sample
was taken, the house number and the laboratory result. If you have more than
one house on site then all houses need to be sampled.
Birds cannot be sent for slaughter unless
they are accompanied by the test result, (please
contact your processing plant for further information) which should be
entered on the food chain information document, the laboratory test result or
by some other suitable means of communication that verifies the Salmonella
status of the flock. If the status of your flock is not verified before
slaughter it will be treated as a Salmonella positive flock and will be
slaughtered and processed accordingly.
Records should also
be kept on the premises to include date birds moved in and out, house number,
and the address from which they came and the address to where they went.
Please retain these
records and results at the farm. The legislation on this subject is the European Communities
(Control of salmonella in turkeys) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 99 of 2010).
Please contact your processing plant or the Laboratory
listed below for further information.
Yours sincerely
Marie Hoban (DOA)
1.
Fattening flocks
·
The sampler (you) should at all times
follow biosecurity procedures as outlined by their private veterinary
practitioner (PVP).
·
Once inside the house, plastic
overboots are put on over disinfected footwear. This prevents disinfectant from
footbaths contaminating the boot/sock swabs.
· Moisten the boot/sock cover with maximum
recovery diluent (MRD: 0,8 % sodium chloride, 0,1 % peptone in
sterile deionised water), or sterile water or any other diluent approved by the
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF).- Ask your Vet to recommend. The use of farm water containing
antimicrobials or additional disinfectants is not allowed. The recommended way to moisten the boot/sock covers is to pour the
liquid inside them before putting them on.
Alternatively, boot swabs or socks can be autoclaved with the diluent within
autoclave bags or jars before use. The diluent can also be applied after the
boots are put on, by using a spray or wash bottle.
· At least two pairs of boot/sock swabs are to be taken. All sections in a house must be represented in the
sampling in a proportionate way. Each pair of boot/sock swabs should cover
about 50 % of the area of the house. (Alternatively, one pair of boot/sock swabs can be taken, which covers
100% of the area of the house, if it is combined with a dust sample collected
from multiple places throughout the house from surfaces with visible presence
of dust).
·
After sampling remove the boot/sock swabs carefully, so as not to
dislodge adherent material. The swabs can be inverted
to retain the material. Place the swabs in a bag or pot and label accordingly.
·
Samples should be sent by express
mail or courier service within twenty-four hours of collection to any of the
approved laboratories that are listed in Annex 1 attached.
For free range flocks of turkeys samples are only to be collected from the area inside the house.
For flocks with less than 100 turkeys,
and where it is not possible to use boot/sock swabs as access to the houses is
not possible, the boot/sock swabs can be replaced by hand drag swabs, where the
boot swabs or socks are worn over gloved hands and rubbed over surfaces
contaminated with fresh faeces, or if not feasible, by other sampling
techniques for faeces fit for the intended purpose.
Annex 1
Laboratories approved to
conduct salmonella testing of turkey flocks
Poultry Veterinary Service Monaghan Veterinary Laboratory
Cootehill Clones Road
Co Cavan Monaghan
049-5555761 047-71900
Complete Laboratory Solutions Oldcastle laboratories Ltd
Ros Muc Cogan Street
Connemara Oldcastle
Co. Galway Co. Meath
091-574355 049-8541160
Enva Ireland Ltd Q-Lab Ltd
Raheen Industrial Estate P.O. Box 27
Ringaskiddy Road Kerlogue Industrial Estate
Monkstown Drinagh
Co Cork Co Wexford
021-4387200 053-45600
Microlab Ltd Mid-Antrim Laboratory Service
Drumillard Little 42A Broughshane Rd
Monaghan Road Ballymena
Castleblaney Co. Antrim
Co. Monaghan 048-25644051
042-9746653