Dutch researchers analyzed 35 commercial frozen raw meat diet products for pets that are widely available in the Netherlands.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5261073/Cat-dog-owners-warned-raw-meat-bug-risk-pets.html
https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/903380/barf-diet-cat-dog-warning-bone-raw-food-pet
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PFMA responds to raw food study. https://www.petgazette.biz/17619-pfma-responds-raw-food-study/
Feeding raw meat to pets could be dangerous, say scientists. https://www.petgazette.biz/17605-raw-meat-dangerous-scientists
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Thank you very much for this information Seaweed. My first thought was that it is a very small study in terms of numbers tested. The samples were not from spurious sources but from commercial prepared raw pet food so that was worrying. I am not sure if this study has relevance to the UK market so it was useful to read the response from the PFMA. However, I am not totally reassured. Is each and every batch of food that leaves the factory been tested for all of these harmful bacteria?
In the article from Pet Gazette there is this comment: “The research concluded that raw meat products should come with health risk warnings on the labels and packaging.” Since we cannot know how good or bad someone’s hygiene standards are and what the health status is of people who are in close contact with the pet, this could be useful. The problem is that we don’t know for sure if pets or their owners are being infected by the feeding of raw meat.
The research has reinforced my view that special consideration should be given to the feeding of raw food to dogs and cats in situations where there are vulnerable people e.g. children, elderly, chronic illness, immunosuppression. If in doubt, maybe it is best to consult a medical practitioner for advice.
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Nutriment respond to the Dutch raw dog food study. http://www.nutriment.co/blog/our-response-to-dutch-raw-research/
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That last sentence sounds about right ;D
I think this is a matter of regulation possibly as I know in Ireland the regulations are much stricter. Very much a zero tolerance approach here for licensed manufacturers.
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