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The demand for animal protein grows as the human population increases. Technological and genetic advances in traditional animal agriculture will not produce enough protein to meet future needs without significant innovations such as the use of insects as protein sources. Insect farming is growing insects, whereas insect harvesting is collecting insects from their natural habitats to produce high-quality protein for animal feed or human food. Intensive agricultural environments produce tremendous quantities of pestiferous insects and with the right harvest technologies these insects can be used as a protein supplement in traditional animal daily rations. An avenue to exploit these insects is to use traps such as the United States Department of Agriculture-Biomass Harvest Trap (USDA-BHT) to efficiently attract, harvest, and store insects from naturally abundant agricultural settings. The modular design allows for a low cost, easy to build and fix device that is user friendly and has customizable attractants to target various pest species. Although insect harvesting faces substantial challenges, including insect biomass quantity, seasonal abundance and preservation, food safety, and economic and nutritional evaluation, the potential for utilizing these pests for protein shows tremendous promise. In this forum, insect harvesting is discussed, including its potential, limitations, challenges, and research needs. In addition, the use of a mass trapping device is discussed as a tool to increase the biomass of insects collected from the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming offers a viable avenue for returning veterans to transition into society and capitalizes on skills that made them successful in the military. However, these opportunities may be missed due to a lack of targeted training programs, guidance, and information for the veteran community. Programs directed toward educating beginning farmers, along with increased awareness and demand for local food production, have provided an opportunity for individuals interested in farming. However, few programs have focused on the needs of veterans interested in agriculture. Since 2007, our team has directly supported approximately 300 veterans interested in farming through workshops, internships, research, and training opportunities and an additional 650 veterans nationally through the Farmer Veteran Coalition. As more programs develop for veterans in agricultural disciplines, we believe lessons learned from our partnership with veterans may be beneficial to those working with this population of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three pathogens, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli, are leading causes of bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States and worldwide. Although these three bacteria are typically considered food-borne pathogens, outbreaks have been reported due to contaminated drinking water and irrigation water. The aim of this research was to develop two types of PCR assays that could detect and quantify three pathogens, Campylobacter spp., E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp., in watershed samples. In conventional PCR, three target strains were detected by multiplex PCR (m-PCR) using each specific primer pair simultaneously. Under optimized m-PCR conditions, the assay produced a 90-bp product for Campylobacter jejuni, a 150-bp product for E. coli O157:H7, and a 262-bp product for Salmonella Typhimurium, and the limitation of detection was approximately 700 copies for all three bacteria. In addition, real-time PCR was performed to quantify the three pathogens using SYBR green fluorescence. The assay was designed so that each target had a different melting temperature [ C. jejuni (80.1 °C), E. coli O157:H7 (83.3 °C), and S. Typhimurium (85.9 °C)]. Therefore, this system could quantify and distinguish three pathogens simultaneously in a single reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of human foodborne illness globally, and is strongly linked with the consumption of contaminated poultry products. Often, C. jejuni survives in the processing environment by forming biofilms, complex bacterial communities with increased resistance to disinfectants and antibiotics. Research to develop effective control strategies against C. jejuni biofilms has been limited. This study investigated the efficacy of three phytochemicals, transcinnamaldehyde (TC), eugenol (EG) or carvacrol (CR) in inhibiting or inactivating C. jejuni biofilms on common food contact surfaces. For the inhibition study, C. jejuni NCTC 11168 was grown either in the presence or absence (control) of sub-inhibitory concentration of TC (0.01%), EG (0.01%) or CR (0.002%) for 48 h. For the inactivation study, C. jejuni biofilms were exposed to the phytochemicals (0, 0.25, 0.5, or 1%) for 1, 5, or 10 min, and surviving biofilm-associated C. jejuni were enumerated. All the studies were conducted three times with duplicate samples. All phytochemicals reduced C. jejuni biofilm formation as well as inactivated mature biofilm on polystyrene and steel surfaces at 20°C and 37°C (P<0.05). The highest dose (1%) of TC, EG and CR rapidly inactivated biofilm within 10 min to below detection limit (1 Log CFU/mL) at 20°C on steel surface. The lowest dose (0.25%) of all phytochemicals reduced counts significantly (> 3 Log CFU/mL) when treated for 1 min at 20°C on a steel surface. The genes encoding for motility systems (flaA, flaB, flgA) were downregulated by all phytochemicals (P<0.05). In addition, the expression of stress response (cosR, ahpC) and cell surface modifying (waaF) genes was reduced by 0.01% EG. LC-MS/MS based proteomic analysis revealed that TC (0.01%), EG (0.01%) and CR (0.002%) significantly downregulated the expression of NapA protein (required for signaling pathway during oxidative stress). The expression of DnaK (chaperone protein) and bacterioferritin required for biofilm formation was also reduced by TC and CR. Scanning electron microscopy revealed disruption of biofilm architecture and loss of extracellular polymeric substances after phytochemical treatment. Results suggest that TC, EG, and CR could be used as a natural disinfectant for controlling C. jejuni biofilms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxins (AF) are toxic metabolites produced by molds, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which frequently contaminate poultry feed ingredients. Ingestion of AF-contaminated feed by chickens leads to deleterious effects, including decreased bird performance and reduced egg production. Moreover, AF residues in fertilized eggs result in huge economic losses by decreasing embryo viability and hatchability. This study investigated the efficacy of 2 generally recognized as safe phytochemicals, namely carvacrol (CR) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC), in protecting chicken embryos from AF-induced toxicity. Dayold embryonated eggs were injected with 50 ng or 75 ng AF with or without 0.1% CR or TC, followed by incubation in an incubator for 18 d. Relative embryo weight, yolk sac weight, tibia weight, tibia length, and mortality were recorded on d 18 of incubation. The effect of phytochemicals and methanol (diluent) on embryo viability was also determined. Each experiment had ten treatments with 15 eggs/treatment (n = 150 eggs/experiment) and each experiment was replicated 3 times. Both phytochemicals significantly decreased AF-induced toxicity in chicken embryos. At 75 ng of AF/egg, CR and TC increased the survival of chicken embryo by ~55%. Moreover, CR and TC increased relative embryo weight by ~3.3% and 17% when compared to eggs injected with 50 ng or 75 ng AF, respectively. The growth of embryos (tibia length and weight) was improved in phytochemical-treated embryos compared to those injected with AF alone (P < 0.05). Phytochemical and methanol treatments did not adversely affect embryo survival, and other measured parameters as compared to the negative control (P > 0.05). Results from this study demonstrate that CR and TC could reduce AF-induced toxicity in chicken embryos; however, additional studies are warranted to delineate the mechanistic basis behind this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter is the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Campylobacter is commonly present in the intestinal tract of poultry, and one strategy to reduce enteric colonization is the use of probiotic cultures. This strategy has successfully reduced enteric colonization of Salmonella, but has had limited success against Campylobacter. In an effort to improve the efficacy of probiotic cultures, we developed a novel in vitro screening technique for selecting bacterial isolates with enhanced motility. It is proposed that motility-selected bacteria have the marked ability to reach the same gastrointestinal niche in poultry and competitively reduce C. jejuni. Bacterial isolates were collected from ceca of healthy chickens, and motile isolates were identified and tested for anti-Campylobacter activity. Isolates with these properties were selected for increased motility by passing each isolate 10 times and at each passage selecting bacteria that migrated the farthest during each passage. Three bacterial isolates with the greatest motility (all Bacillus subtilis) were used alone or in combination in two chicken trials. At day of hatch, chicks were administered these isolates alone or in combination (n=10/treatment, two trials), and chicks were orally challenged with a mixture of four different wild-type strains of C. jejuni (∼10(5) CFU/mL) on day 7. Isolate 1 reduced C. jejuni colonization in both of the trials (p<0.05). A follow-up study was conducted to compare isolate 1 subjected to enhanced motility selection with its nonselected form. A reduction (p<0.05) in Campylobacter colonization was observed in all three trials in the chickens dosed using isolate with enhanced motility compared to the control and unselected isolate. These findings support the theory that the motility enhancement of potential probiotic bacteria may provide a strategy for reduction of C. jejuni in preharvest chickens.

Campylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, and epidemiological evidence indicates poultry products to be a significant source of human Campylobacter infections. Caprylic acid, an eight-carbon medium-chain fatty acid, reduces Campylobacter colonization in chickens. How caprylic acid reduces Campylobacter carriage may be related to changes in intestinal microflora. To evaluate this possibility, cecal microbial populations were evaluated with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis from market-age broiler chickens fed caprylic acid. In the first trial, chicks (n = 40 per trial) were assigned to four treatment groups (n = 10 birds per treatment group): positive controls (Campylobacter, no caprylic acid), with or without a 12-h feed withdrawal before slaughter; and 0.7% caprylic acid supplemented in feed for the last 3 days of the trial, with or without a 12-h feed withdrawal before slaughter. Treatments were similar for trial 2, except caprylic acid was supplemented for the last 7 days of the trial. At age 14 days, chicks were orally challenged with Campylobacter jejuni, and on day 42, ceca were collected for denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and Campylobacter analysis. Caprylic acid supplemented for 3 or 7 days at 0.7% reduced Campylobacter compared with the positive controls, except for the 7-day treatment with a 12-h feed withdrawal period. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles of the cecal content showed very limited differences in microbial populations. The results of this study indicate that caprylic acid's ability to reduce Campylobacter does not appear to be due to changes in cecal microflora.