It seems like every day there is a new pet food recall. You can't go on Facebook or Twitter without hearing about some new recall of some pet food or treat. So, is something going on? Is dog food becoming less safe? The answer is 'no'.
According to an article written by Katie Burns that appeared in the February 15 (2013) issue of Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) pet food recalls are virtually unchanged from year to year. What has changed is media attention and the attention paid to recalls in social media.
As a point in fact, most recalls of pet foods involve human safety, not pet safety. Most recent recalls according to Dan McChesney PhD, Director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance at the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine involve Salmonella contamination. He goes on to state that pet food in general is very safe.
Salmonella poses a much higher risk for pet owners than to the pets themselves. There have been no confirmed cases of Salmonellosis in pets from pet food recalls, though human illnesses have been reported. In most cases Salmonellosis in pets is associated with raw home made diets. This is according to research conducted by Dr. Kate KuKanich Assistant Professor of small animal internal medicine at Kansas State University in 2011 which also appeared in JAVMA.
According to the article the ratings of the pet food industry are still very high when it comes to safety. And efforts are afoot to place stronger emphasis on pet food safety, meaning that even as awareness of pet food recalls arise, pet food safety, already good will get better.
Thank you for reading. Please join the conversation on Facebook.
Comments