Bernard Matthews trials new antimicrobial protection
Bernard Matthews Farms is pioneering a new silver antimicrobial protection on its transportation crates to shield its turkey flocks from a wide range of pathogens.
With biosecurity and bird health a key priority, the turkey company has decided to trial the system, particularly as transportation crates are a potential biosecurity weakness, allowing the cross contamination of flocks with pathogens such as campylobacter.
The BioCote technology incorporated in the crates by Anglia Autoflow has a proven track record in the healthcare sector and is based on silver.
It is a safe, natural antimicrobial, commonly used in wound dressings and surface-coated catheters to reduce the risk of infection. It inhibits the growth of a wide range of bacteria on the surface of products, making them cleaner and more hygienic to use, said Anglian Autoflow.
Bernard Matthews Farms’ head of UK Technical Operations, Herluf Thun-Rasmussen, added: “The antimicrobial protection continues to work for the lifetime of the crate, helping us further improve the biosecurity cycle when returning clean trays back to farms for bird collection.”