Do I need to worry about bacteria and parasites in my pet’s raw food?
If you’ve just started your pet on a raw diet, you might be worried about handling raw meat yourself and exposing your pet to harmful bacteria. However, most healthy pets can handle raw meat without any trouble and we ask you to treat this food as you would handling meat for yourself.
In this blog, we’ll look at why bacteria and parasites won’t cause any problems when feeding your pet a raw diet.
Why doesn’t raw meat harm my pet?
Your pet’s biology
A short digestive tract, antibacterial saliva and an acidic stomach environment means it’s hard for bacteria to colonise when your dog or cat consumes raw meat.
Whilst dogs and to some degree, cats are now domesticated, their digestive system hasn’t changed and it’s even thought dogs can digest carbohydrates, a more species-appropriate diet is meat-based.
Pet food regulations
Raw pet food must return zero traces of listeria and salmonella when batch tested. Low levels of other bacteria are actually allowed and a healthy dog or cat will be able to cope with these. Any pet food has to be made from animals fit for human consumption in the UK and raw food is also no different.
Due to modern UK farming methods and good practices, and how raw pet food is frozen, there are also measures in place for the control of parasites. If your dog consumes wild rabbits which have not been frozen, there is a chance they may pick up a tapeworm.
Common sense prevails
Even though any bacteria in raw meat is unlikely to cause your pet harm, it’s still best to follow the same guidelines for handling raw meat for human consumption. We would recommend storing your pet’s raw food in the fridge for a maximum of three days after defrosting, and it should always be stored at a low level. Dogs are scavengers and can handle the most
Healthy Pet Store in Totton is a pet food and accessories retailer, specialising in raw food diets for meat-eating pets. If you are interested in transitioning your pet, our friendly in-store team will be happy to help you create a bespoke raw meal plan.