How To Set The Stage In A Pet Food Study

There is a new pet food study that is making headlines around the world – “Industrial dog food is a vehicle of multidrug-resistant enterococci carrying virulence genes often linked to human infections.” This one sentence taken from the abstract is the foundation of the many headlines: “Multidrug-resistant isolates (31%), …were obtained mostly from raw foods…“

Multi-drug resistant bacteria in dog food, mostly found in raw pet food – sounds concerning doesn’t it? Well, here’s something else that is concerning…

Not disclosed in the abstract, (only disclosed after purchase of the paper $35.95) is the concerning fact the researchers thawed the raw pet food “at room temperature for 6 hours.”

The researchers were obligated to thaw the raw pet foods per manufacturers instructions or at least follow standard food safety procedure. Instead they thawed a raw meat product in the worst way possible (with the exception of thawing a raw pet food in a hot car in July as Colorado Department of Agriculture did).

How bad is thawing a raw pet food at room temperature for 6 hours?

The USDA states “Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter, or in hot water and must not be left at room temperature for more than two hours.”

WebMD states “Any foods that can go bad — like raw or cooked meat, poultry, and eggs — must thaw at safe temperatures. When frozen food gets warmer than 40 degrees or is at room temperature for more than 2 hours, it’s in the danger zone where bacteria multiply quickly.”

The FDA states “Because bacteria can multiply so rapidly in unrefrigerated food, it’s simply unsafe to let food thaw at room temperature.“

This study – that has made alarming headlines around the world – didn’t follow simple food safety procedure (or pet food manufacturer instructions) to thaw the raw pet food prior to testing. Whether it was intentional or a foolish mistake, the outcome of the raw pet food testing was effectively altered because they ignored protocol.

Which style of pet food is at most risk for pathogenic bacteria contamination?

Data taken from FDA Enforcement Reports for US pet food recalls (recalls through 7/31/21):

Since 2012:

• 157,520,659 pounds of kibble pet food have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria.
• 1,977, 069 pounds of raw pet food have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria.
• 222,170 pounds of dehydrated/freeze dried, cooked sold frozen/refrigerated pet foods have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria.
• 2,390,937 pounds of treats have been recalled for pathogenic bacteria.

Now let’s consider the percentage of market share of each style of pet food compared to the percentage of pathogenic bacteria recalls for each style of pet food.

Excluding pet treats – 159,719,898 pounds of pet foods have been recalled since 2012 for pathogenic bacteria.

Dehydrated/freeze dried and cooked sold frozen/refrigerated pet foods are estimated to be 5% of all pet food sales. This category of pet food accounts for 0.001% of all pet food pathogenic recalls (based on pounds recalled) since 2012.

Raw pet foods are estimated to be 5% of all pet food sales. This category of pet food accounts for 0.1% of all pet food pathogenic bacteria recalls (based on pounds recalled) since 2012.

And kibble pet foods are estimated to be 50% of all pet food sales. This category of pet food accounts for 98% of all pet food pathogenic bacteria recalls (based on pounds recalled) since 2012.

The historical evidence is very clear, the category of raw pet food is NOT the high risk style of pet food it is made out to be.

For regulatory authorities and some researchers to classify raw pet food – as a whole – as “dangerous” based on intentionally flawed testing and ignoring historical recall evidence is simply wrong. It indicates those nay-sayers have an agenda in mind instead of properly regulating or properly analyzing pet food safety.

What will it take for the raw pet food category to be given fair treatment?

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

Become a member of our pet food consumer Association. Association for Truth in Pet Food is a stakeholder organization representing the voice of pet food consumers at AAFCO and with FDA. Your membership helps representatives attend meetings and voice consumer concerns with regulatory authorities. Click Here to learn more.

What’s in Your Pet’s Food?
Is your dog or cat eating risk ingredients?  Chinese imports? Petsumer Report tells the ‘rest of the story’ on over 5,000 cat foods, dog foods, and pet treats. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Click Here to preview Petsumer Report. www.PetsumerReport.com

Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here

The 2021 List
Susan’s List of pet foods trusted to give her own pets. Click Here to learn more.