Fighting salmonella could be as easy as feeding cinnamon extract to chickens, researchers at the University of Connecticut believe. According to the Hartford Courant, scientists found that chickens fed with trans-cinnemaldehyde were less likely to produce eggs tainted with salmonella.
Though the study is still in its early phases, results have been promising. Kumar Venkitanarayanan, a professor of animal science, told the Courant that of the 150 chickens being tested, birds fed with the cinnamon extract were able to better withstand exposure to salmonella.
“We know that the chickens show significantly less contamination in the yolk than the non-treated birds,” he said.
From here, the team plans to test the cinnamon extract on a larger scale before asking farmers to try it themselves. According to Venkitanarayanan, companies have already expressed interest and excitement in the product. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has even given the researchers a $600,000 grant to aid in their work.
According to the Courant, the cinnamon extract works by interacting with the genes of salmonella bacteria and preventing them from spreading themselves throughout the bird’s intestinal tract.
Salmonella is commonly found in chickens through contamination of the birds’ ovaries or through its feces. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported every year, with about 400 people dying from the illness annually.
