On April 28 and 29, the online Symposium “Salmonella: Update on Control and Trends” was held, organized by the APINCO Foundation for Poultry Science and Technology (FACTA, Brazil). It was an important opportunity for the poultry industry to discuss this disease of animal origin, update knowledge, and discuss the latest trends in the sector. The event brought together high-level speakers, as well as representatives and stakeholders from the regional poultry industry, to address various aspects of interest to producers that help reduce losses in the production chain and protect public health.
Among the guest speakers, which included representatives from Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, among other countries, was Juan Carlos Domínguez, President of ChileCarne, who spoke on April 28 as part of the module “The Importance of Salmonella Control Programs for Latin American Countries, in Practice.” Ricardo Santin from ABPA, the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein, also spoke about the experience of Brazil.
Domínguez began his presentation analyzing the context of the poultry industry in Chile, considering that chicken is the most produced meat in the country and the second most exported, after pork. “Today, 50% of Chile’s chicken exports go to the United States, 22% to China, and 16% to Mexico. On the other hand, 60% of turkey exports go to the European Union and China (39% and 25%, respectively). Additionally, 44% of Chile’s per capita meat consumption is chicken,” he said.
Domínguez then spoke about the sector’s assets. “This is an industry with high biosecurity standards, open to the world and looking to the future,” he pointed out. “It is also a sustainable industry that invests heavily in first-class technologies, that is concerned with the correct use of antibiotics in only specific medical situations and under strict veterinarian control, and that makes important efforts in animal welfare together with the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and various NGOs,” said Domínguez.
He highlighted the fact that particularly in the last 5 years, “salmonella control has involved the effort of every link in the processing chain, always with the involvement of the health authority, with the ultimate goal of continuing to export Chilean poultry to the thirty authorized destination countries. We set a course for every part of the chain to work towards a common goal and thus fulfill an agreement: to decrease the prevalence of salmonella to 12% over the next 10 years, and we are already implementing various measures in pursuit of this goal.
