When thinking about food safety, most people don't think about pet food as a health risk. But there have been outbreaks linked to contaminated pet food in the past few years. Earlier this year, Salmonella Reading bacteria sickened two Minnesota children when raw pet food was brought into their home. The CDC has tips for pet owners to protect their health and the health of their pets. First, the CDC does not recommend feeding raw diets to pets. Those foods can be contaminated with E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. You can get sick from handling the food, and your pet can also contract an infection and pass it on to you. In fact, some animals can carry these pathogenic bacteria without showing any signs of illness. The bacteria are shed in the animal's … [Read more...]
Pet Food Safety: How to Handle Food You Choose For Your Dog or Cat So You Don’t Get Sick
Raw Chicken Necks are Linked to APN Paralysis in Dogs
According to a study conducted at the University of Melbourne, raw chicken necks have been linked to a potentially fatal form of paralysis. The illness is called acute polyradiculoneuritis (APN), which shares similarities with Guillain-Barre syndrome in humans. The bacteria in question is Campylobacter. Scientists studied 27 client-owned dogs suffering from suspected APN and 47 healthy dogs. The researchers collected fecal samples from each dog and performed direct culture, DNA extraction, and polymerase chain retain to look for Campylobacter. The research revealed that dogs with APN were 9.4 times more likely to be positive for Campylobacter species compared to dogs in the control group. And a significant association was found between dogs affected by APN and the consumption of … [Read more...]
FDA: Don’t Give the Dog a Bone
Bones are not a safe treat for dogs of any size, says the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "You’ve just finished a big weekend family dinner and you are wondering what to do with the bones from the ham and roast, when in trots your big black Labrador Retriever. It’s hard to resist those longing, puppy-dog eyes," begins their warning. But it's in your pets best interest to find a safer treat. Bones can cause all kinds of problems for your dog including choking, blockages of the gastrointestinal tract, cuts and wounds in the mouth or on the tonsils, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding from the rectum, and death. The FDA has received about 35 reports of illnesses in dogs and eight fatalities related to bone treats. The agency has also received reports of product problems, such as bones … [Read more...]
