USPOULTRY approved approximately $119,000 in funding for a new research grant for a risk assessment comparing alternative approaches to regulating Salmonella in poultry through the Board Research Initiative program. The topic and request for proposal were selected by the USPOULTRY board of directors. The Foundation Research Advisory Committee evaluated several research proposals and then recommended which proposal to fund to the board.

The research grant, “Risk Assessment Comparing Alternative Approaches to Regulating Salmonella in Poultry by Public Health Impact Factors,”  to be done at the University of Illinois was made possible by donations to the USPOULTRY Foundation. The donations came from a wide range of poultry and egg companies, individuals and families to support the Foundation’s mission of funding industry research and recruiting students into poultry careers.

There is a push to change the approaches used to minimize Salmonella transmission to humans from raw poultry, including the likely introduction of new regulatory policies and a push for enhanced interventions, including on the live bird level. Rational changes to Salmonella controls require appropriate risk assessments using current, representative industry data and input. This project meets this need with a formal risk assessment for Salmonella in raw poultry that will assess the impact on public heath of different interventions and possible standards, with strong involvement of the U.S. poultry industry through an industry advisory council. This research may provide the scientific foundation for selecting the most effective interventions for reducing the public heath impact of Salmonella.

“This particular project is extremely important. Being able to have direct industry involvement whilst obtaining this information will ensure that appropriate data are used to develop future approaches for Salmonella control and Salmonella regulatory modifications,” said USPOULTRY Vice President of Research Dr. Denise Heard.

USPOULTRY President John Starkey commented, “The poultry industry has long invested in continuously improving the wholesomeness, safety and sustainability of its product. This project represents one more step in that ongoing effort.”

The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative was created by the boards of USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation to address current issues facing the poultry industry. The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative operates alongside the USPOULTRY Comprehensive Research Program and augments the great success of the existing program by focusing additional resources toward defined areas of research.

USPOULTRY and its Foundation operate an extensive research program incorporating all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Since the inception of the research program, USPOULTRY has reinvested more than $34 million into the industry in the form of research grants. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants over the years.