Effect of fermented feed on shedding of Enterobacteriaceae by fattening pigs.

Epidemiological studies showed that the use of fermented feed could significantly reduce Salmonella prevalence in pigs compared to the use of normal feed. Experimental challenge experiments with Salmonella have however never been conducted to reveal the efficacy of fermented feed in reducing Salmonella shedding and/or reducing the number of Salmonella-positive pigs. A longitudinal study was conducted to measure the effect of fermented feed, in particular of its components lactic acid and Lactobacillus plantarum, on gastrointestinal bacterial ecology (Salmonella, Enterobacteriaceae, lactobacilli, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), pH). Seeder pigs were used as a mode for Salmonella transmission within a pig herd. Bacteriological measurements were performed in faeces of the pigs. The results showed that fermented feed affected/reduced the Enterobacteriaceae population in faeces of the pigs. No differences were found in the number of positive pigs infected or in the number of shedding with Salmonella serovar Typhimurium fed fermented feed and between the normal feed group. S. serovar Goldcoast could not establish an infection in the seeder pigs in the fermented feed group as well as in the normal feed group. The pH of the faeces in the fermented feed groups was significantly higher than the pH of the faeces of the normal feed groups. The role of the undissociated form of the faecal VFAs on the significantly lower Enterobacteriaceae number in faeces of the pigs of the fermented feed groups could not be demonstrated because of the significant higher pH in the faeces of the pigs fed fermented feed.