Publication history: Accepted - 17 March 2021; Published online - 26 March 2021.Concerns over animal welfare continue to
be a critical component of law and policies associated
with commercial food animal production. Social and market
pressures are the driving forces behind the legislation
and result in the change of poultry production management
systems. As a result, the movement toward cagefree
and aviary-based egg production systems has become
standard practices. Cage-based systems being replaced
by alternative methods that offer a suitable housing environment
to meet or exceed poultry welfare needs and
require different management, including the ban of
antibiotics in poultry diets. For broiler production, pasture-
raised and free-range management systems have
become more popular. However, challenges remain from
exposure to disease-causing organisms and foodborne
pathogens in these environments. Consequently, probiotics
can be supplemented in poultry diets as commercial
feed additives. The present review discusses the impacts
of these probiotics on the performance of alternative poultry
production systems for improving food safety and
poultry health by mitigating pathogenic organisms and
improving egg and meat quality and production.Dr. El Jeni was generously supported by a Fulbright
Fellowship through the U.S. Department of State