Why did the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services test bird seed?
Many residents of North Carolina have reported finding dead birds around their bird feeders. One of those birds was submitted to the NCDA&CS Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System to help determine cause of death. Cultures of tissue samples taken from the bird indicated that Salmonella was present and may have contributed to the bird’s death. NCDA&CS then obtained unopened samples of bird food from the original source, and these were tested to determine if contamination had occurred during production of the food. Of these samples, Wildlife Blend and Woodpecker Blends referenced in Question 4 tested positive for Salmonella.
