Microbiological control of feeds used in industrial
poultry production has been increasingly important
due to the demands of the market for food safety, as well as the need to ensure
better quality of the digestive system of the birds. Microbiological
analysis carried out in raw material used in feed production, especially feather, meat, and organ meal, has shown
contamination by Clostridium perfringens. In order to study the presence of Clostridium perfringens,
a total of 354 samples of feed and raw material were analyzed from January 2011
to July 2013. Samples came from four companies located in the state of São
Paulo, with a total of 166 samples of meat meal, 24 samples of feather meal, 43
samples of organ meal, and 121 samples of feed. The following results were
obtained: 88 (53%), 15 (62.5%), 16 (37.21%), and 23 (19%) samples were positive
for Clostridium perfringens in each group of samples, respectively, with counts
ranging from 2.0 × 102 to 7.0 × 103 CFU/g.