Study 1

In the first study, 1,040 one-day-old broiler breeders were reared in 16 pens, with 8 pens per treatment. Broiler breeders received diets containing either 0 or 50 g/MT of CELMANAX SCP.

Eggs from 51-week-old breeder hens were collected and hatched. Male progeny broiler chicks were then fed diets supplemented with either 0 or 50 g/MT of CELMANAX SCP. Cecal Salmonella prevalence was tested in broilers at 34 days of age, while breeder hen ceca were sampled at 23 and 64 weeks of age.

Study 2

In the second study, one-day-old Ross broiler chicks were sorted by sex and allocated to 24 replicate pens of 12 broilers each per diet and sex. Birds were fed either 0 or 50 g/MT of CELMANAX SCP in standard starter, grower, and finisher diets.

Researchers evaluated Salmonella prevalence in litter and broiler ceca, while also measuring broiler performance.

Results from breeder hens and broiler progeny

In Study 1, control broiler breeder hens showed 71.43% Salmonella prevalence in ceca at 23 weeks and 40.00% prevalence at 64 weeks. In contrast, hens fed CELMANAX had 0% Salmonella prevalence at both sampling points.

Broiler progeny results also showed a clear difference between treatments. Broilers from control-fed hens and receiving control broiler diets had 12.5% Salmonella prevalence in the ceca, whereas broilers from CELMANAX-fed hens and receiving either control or CELMANAX-supplemented broiler diets had 0% Salmonella prevalence at 34 days of age.

Results from broiler litter and ceca

In Study 2, Salmonella spp. was isolated from litter in 7 of 48 control-fed broiler pens, representing 14.58% of pens. In contrast, no Salmonella was isolated from CELMANAX-fed pens.

Cecal sampling confirmed similar findings. At 44 and 55 days of age, control-fed broilers showed 45.83% and 29.17% Salmonella prevalence, respectively. Birds fed CELMANAX had 0% prevalence at both sampling times.

Potential performance benefits

In addition to Salmonella-related outcomes, CELMANAX-fed female broilers showed a tendency toward improved body weight and feed conversion ratio, although those data were not presented in the abstract.

Implications for Salmonella mitigation

The results suggest that CELMANAX supplementation may contribute to a broader Salmonella mitigation strategy in poultry production. While Salmonella control requires a multifactorial approach, including biosecurity, hygiene, monitoring, feed management, and processing controls, nutritional tools may help reduce pathogen prevalence at the flock level.

By supporting gut conditions that are less favorable to Salmonella persistence, feed additives such as CELMANAX may help complement existing control programs.

Conclusion

Across the two studies, CELMANAX supplementation at 50 g/MT was associated with reduced Salmonella prevalence in broiler breeder hens, broiler progeny, broiler litter, and broiler ceca. These findings support the potential value of CELMANAX as part of an integrated strategy for improving poultry health and food safety outcomes.