Bernard Matthews Farms, the largest turkey farming company in Britain, is pioneering a new silver antimicrobial protection on its transportation crates to shield its poultry flocks from a wide range of pathogens.
With biosecurity and bird health a key priority at Bernard Matthews Farms, the BioCoteŽ protected poultry crates from Anglia Autoflow Ltd have been chosen for their proven effectiveness in helping reduce the risk of pathogen cross-contamination.
Used to transport turkeys from farm to processing plant, the new crates will become an integral part of Bernard Matthews Farms’ hygiene strategy, which centres on animal welfare and food safety.
A hotspot for the potential cross contamination of flocks, the crates already undergo a thorough decontamination process between uses. However, in trials for Anglia Autoflow, the BioCoteŽ-protected crates demonstrated a significant reduction in any remaining pathogen load. This effectiveness was sustainable throughout the repeated cycle of the crates, from contact with flocks, through the decontamination process to re-contact with the flocks.
Bernard Matthews Farms Head of UK Technical Operations, Herluf Thun-Rasmussen commented: “The antimicrobial protection continues to work for the lifetime of the crate, helping us further improve the bio-security cycle when returning clean trays back to farms for bird collection.
“Bio-security is our first concern, and the investment during 2010 in BioCoteŽ-protected crates will add further to our already exhaustive measures in this area.”
Steve Dennett, Anglia Autoflow’s business development manager, added: “Our trials suggest there are a number of benefits of incorporating BioCoteŽ into poultry transportation crates to help meet the objective of reducing pathogen load, and we’re delighted that Bernard Matthews Farms recognise the value of antimicrobial protection and have embraced this new technology so quickly.”
BioCote Ltd’s commercial director Graham Harvey said: “While BioCoteŽ protection is a credible and proven technology that adds real value to any product range, this is not just a nice option to offer manufacturers and customers – there’s a very real and urgent need to tackle the cross contamination of bacteria in all hygienic environments. We’re delighted to be working with Anglia Autoflow to reduce levels of bacteria in this critical part of the food chain and it’s great to see Bernard Matthews Farms leading the way by continuing to raise industry standards.”
BioCoteŽ technology has a proven track record in the healthcare sector and is based on silver, which is a safe, natural antimicrobial, commonly used in wound dressings and surface-coated catheters to reduce the risk of infection. BioCoteŽ inhibits the growth of a wide range of bacteria on the surface of products, making them cleaner and more hygienic to use. BioCote Ltd works with a growing number of manufacturers supplying the food-processing sector to incorporate this cutting edge technology into their products at the manufacturing stage. Silver can be incorporated into a variety of materials including plastics, fabrics, paints, powder coatings and papers.
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For more information on BioCote call Russell Clarke or Sammi Edwards at HRO’C on 0121 454 9707 / russell.clarke@hroc.co.uk
Contact details for BioCote Ltd:
BioCote Ltd, Wolverhampton Science Park Technology Centre, Glaisher Drive, Wolverhampton. WV10 9RU.
Contact: Nathan Lloyd
Tel: 01902 824450
Email: nathan.lloyd@biocote.com
Website: www.biocote.com
Contact details for Anglia Autoflow Ltd:
Anglia Autoflow Ltd, Wortham Ling, Diss, Norfolk. IP22 1SR.
Contact: Steve Dennett
Tel: 01379 651031
Mobile: 07912 253736
Email: steve.dennett@aaflow.com
Website: www.aaflow.com
09 November 2009
BioCote® proven to work in real-life environments.
As experts in our field, BioCote Ltd is leading the way in research and evidence-based studies to demonstrate the antimicrobial performance of BioCote® protected products not only in lab tests but also in real life environments.
