Not too long ago, the Middle for Science within the Public Curiosity (CSPI) printed an article titled “Can Pet Food Make You Sick? Here’s How to Stay Safe”. The article was disappointing, at finest.
The writer begins off stating “Pet meals isn’t only a danger for pets. It might additionally expose individuals to dangerous micro organism.” True…however…
The writer then factors fingers at one type of pet meals they declare is the riskiest. “Uncooked pet meals poses the best danger.”
“Uncooked pet diets are sometimes marketed as extra ‘pure,’ however they carry the next danger of dangerous micro organism.”
They base this declare on a research carried out by the FDA from October 2010 by way of July 2012.
“In a two-year research, the FDA’s Middle for Veterinary Drugs examined greater than 1,000 pet meals samples, and uncooked canine and cat meals stood out. Of 196 uncooked pet meals samples, 15 examined constructive for salmonella and 32 examined constructive for listeria. By comparability, only one dry cat meals pattern examined constructive for salmonella.”
However…the details concerning the danger of dangerous micro organism in pet meals tells a really completely different story. Throughout the timeframe of the FDA testing (2012) the place the company claims it solely discovered “one dry cat meals pattern” examined constructive for Salmonella, Diamond Pet Meals recalled greater than 60 million kilos of dry pet meals for Salmonellla contamination. This dry pet meals recall resulted in 49 human illnesses, 10 people had been hospitalized.
In late 2023, a dry pet meals recall from Mid America Pet Meals resulted in 7 human illnesses and 1 hospitalization. The FDA Enforcement Report acknowledged 9,508,943 baggage of pet meals had been recalled, an estimated 190,303,860 kilos.
Has the CDC confirmed any human sickness to uncooked pet meals?
The ONLY point out of human sickness linked to uncooked pet meals on the CDC web site is with the 2017 – 2019 outbreak of Salmonella linked to raw turkey products (not solely turkey pet meals). The CDC web site states: “Amongst 198 interviewed sufferers, 132 (67%) reported direct or oblique contact with turkey within the week earlier than sickness; 123 reported making ready or consuming turkey merchandise that had been bought uncooked (together with entire turkey, turkey items, and floor turkey), 4 grew to become sick after pets of their residence ate uncooked floor turkey pet meals, and 5 labored in a facility that raises or processes turkeys or lived with somebody who labored in such a facility. No frequent kind, model, or supply of turkey was recognized.”
Though 4 individuals grew to become sick linked to “uncooked floor turkey pet meals”, the CDC web site doesn’t make clear if the pet meals was a business pet meals or residence ready.
Whole human sickness linked to pet meals:
Kibble = 56 individuals,
93% of all pathogenic micro organism human sicknesses linked to pet meals.
Uncooked = 4 individuals,
6% of all pathogenic micro organism human sicknesses linked to pet meals.
Whole Kilos Recalled
From January 2012 by way of December 2025 – 352,712,936 kilos of pet meals has been recalled for pathogenic micro organism. Of those kilos of pet meals recalled for pathogenic micro organism – 98.6% was for kibble pet meals. Uncooked pet meals however was chargeable for 0.59% of the full kilos recalled for pathogenic micro organism.
The breakdown of those 352 million recalled kilos of pet meals per type:
Does this appear to be uncooked pet meals merchandise “carry the next danger of dangerous micro organism” because the CSPI states?
Disgrace on you Middle for Science within the Public Curiosity. Your story misleads the pet proudly owning public maybe into complacency when dealing with kibble pet meals. Very disappointing.
(We despatched an e-mail to the CSPI expressing our disappointment on this story, however we now have not acquired a reply.)
Susan Thixton
Pet Meals Shopper Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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