The broiler crop has recently been implicated as a major source of Salmonel
la contamination at commercial processing. Furthermore, feed withdrawal has
been positively correlated with increased Salmonella incidence in the crop
, probably due to coprophagy. In the present study, a rapid screening assay
was developed to evaluate several potential disinfectants in the presence
of large quantities of organic matter, simulating the crop environment. An
apparent synergistic combination of d-Limonene (DL) and citric acid (CA) wa
s observed when evaluating the potential to eliminate Salmonella in the pre
sence of organic material. A method of encapsulation of DL and CA was devel
oped for voluntary consumption by broilers during feed withdrawal. During a
n 8-h feed withdrawal individual 8-wk-old broilers voluntarily consumed an
average of 21.5 capsules (total of 3.44 g material). When eight capsules we
re force-administered to Salmonella-challenged 8-wk-old broilers during an
abbreviated 4 h feed withdrawal, Salmonella was not recovered using selecti
ve enrichment. To evaluate the effect of voluntary capsule consumption, 8-w
k-old broilers were challenged with 1x10(8) cfu of Salmonella 5 d prior to
an 8 h feed withdrawal. When these broilers were allowed unlimited continuo
us access to capsules containing DL/CA during an 8 h feed withdrawal, 24.8
capsules per broiler were ingested without affecting Salmonella recovery fr
om crops. When access to capsules containing DL/CA was Limited to the final
45 min of an 8 h feed withdrawal in a similar experiment, an average of 22
.2 capsules were consumed by each broiler, resulting in a significant decre
ase in the number of Salmonella-positive crops. Although a number of practi
cal questions and considerations remain, these data suggest that appropriat
e disinfectants could be administered during preslaughter feed withdrawal f
or the purpose of reducing foodborne pathogens in crops.