The probiotic branded as Calsporin, is developed by Japanese company, Asahi Calpis Wellness, and is marketed in Europe by Orffa.
In Europe, the probiotic received the first authorisation as feed additive for broilers in 2006. This was followed by a registration for piglets in 2010 and for turkeys, ducks, ornamental and other minor avian species in 2011.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a positive opinion on the probiotic back in September last year in relation to layers.
It concluded that in the three laying hen trials involving Calsporin, which was included at the minimum recommended dose of 3x10 colony forming units per kg/feed, the amount of feed needed to produce a unit of egg mass was significantly reduced.
While EFSA noteed one of the studies involved layers in the second half of production rather than from the onset of laying, it said the positive outcome was taken to indicate a potential for efficacy over the entire laying period.
Control of gut microbes
Pauline Paap, international technical manager with Orffa told FeedNavigator previously that Calsporin is backed by a large scientific dossier showing improvement in animal performance like growth and feed conversion.
ʺAdditionally, there is a large amount of scientific and practical farm trials showing a better control of harmful gut microbes like Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium and coliforms,ʺ she said.
When asked how it benefits the intestinal microflora, Paap said:
ʺWhen Bacillus subtilis C-3102 is added to the diet it will consume oxygen and produce an amount of enzymes. This will create a favorable environment for beneficial bacteria, Lactobacilli.
"Lactobacilli will colonize the gut wall and block adhesion receptors.These bacteria produce lactic acid which has a strong antimicrobial effect. As a result, negative effects of harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E. Coli, Campylobacter and Clostridium are reduced. ʺ
Trial to tackle Campylobacter
A study, published in Poultry Science in December 2015, tested a wide variety of feed additives to reduce Campylobacter shedding in primary poultry production.
Twelve additives containing organic or fatty acids, monoglycerides, plant extracts, prebiotics, or probiotics including Calsporin were tested.
The researchers said that for each additive, broilers contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni were fed with an additive free diet, control group, or with a supplemented diet, treated group, and Campylobacter loads compared at three sampling times.
No treatment was able to prevent broiler colonization by Campylobacter, and there was a high degree of variation in contamination among the birds.
At 14 d of age, they found eight treatments significantly decreased the colonization level compared to the control group by a maximum of 2 log10 CFU/g. At 35 d of age, three of these treatments still had a significant effect with a maximum reduction of 1.88 log10 CFU/g for a probiotic.
At 42 d of age, only one short-chain fatty acid was still significantly efficient with a mean reduction over 2 log10 CFU/g, said the authors. But, in addition, the researchers said Calsporin and a prebiotic like compound significantly decreased the contamination by a maximum of 3 log10 CFU/g, only at the 42-d sampling period.
The researchers said their results are promising regarding the use of feed additives to reduce Campylobacter infection in flocks. Nevertheless, a global approach, combining intervention measures at the different steps of the broiler meat production chain could have a greater impact on the reduction of public health risk, they added.
Source: Poultry Science
doi:10.3382/ps/pev303
Title: Efficacy of feed additives against Campylobacter in live broilers during the entire rearing period
Authors: M. Guyard-Nicodeme, A. Keita,S. Quesne, M. Amelot, T. Poezevara, B. Le Berre, J. Sanchez, P. Vesseur, A. Martin ,P. Medel,and M Chemaly