The three main components of pre-harvest intervention — probiotics and prebiotics in animal feed, pathogen resistance through vaccines or antimicrobials, and biosecurity protocols — all work together to reduce foodborne pathogens in beef, poultry and pork. Each operation, however, has to tinker with the formula to create its ideal solution.

When innovations enter into a given business, the companies that are the earliest adopters tend to gain an advantage over their competitors. Sometimes though, there is an advantage is maintaining those old traditions.

Sales of probiotic-fed chicken products in the United States have increased 34 percent in the last year due to the demand for antibiotic-free poultry.