Faecal Microbial Loads of Growing Pigs Fed Food Waste-Based Diets

Abstract

The high cost of conventional livestock feed has necessitated the exploration of alternative and sustainable feed resources such as food waste. This study evaluated the effects of food waste–based diets on the faecal microbial composition of growing pigs. Twenty-seven (27) crossbred pigs (Large White × Landrace), with an average weight of 30–35 kg, were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments: T1 (control diet with no food waste), T2 (35% food waste inclusion), and T3 (70% food waste inclusion) in a completely randomized design over an eight-week period. At the end of the experiment, faecal samples were collected and analyzed for total bacterial count, coliform count, Salmonella, Lactobacillus, and Saccharomyces using standard microbiological procedures. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), with significance set at p 0.05) on total bacterial count, coliform count, Salmonella, and Lactobacillus populations. However, Saccharomyces count was significantly affected (p