Raw Foods and the Risk of Salmonella
Dr. Sara, DVM, The Western Dragon
Sara Skiwski is a graduate of Mississippi State University. Dr. Sara's scope of practice includes: Internal Medicine, Soft Tissue Surgery, and Alternative Medicine, with a special focus on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Sara Skiwski is a graduate of Mississippi State University. Dr. Sara's scope of practice includes: Internal Medicine, Soft Tissue Surgery, and Alternative Medicine, with a special focus on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
From Kelly: If you've spent any time talking to us about the proper diet for your dog or cat, chances are we have expounded the virtues of fresh, unprocessed or minimally processed foods. A while back I started thinking of kibble and canned food diets being the same as a human eating nothing but meal replacement bars or shakes for every meal, every day, forever. Sure, we'd get the necessary vitamins and minerals, but no one in their right mind would expect that diet to keep us just as healthy as one consisting of real meat (if you eat it), fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthy carbohydrates (whole grains, sweet potato, etc). It makes sense, when we think about our own health, that a varied diet of healthy, fresh foods is best, so why doesn't that translate to our pet's diets? When I talk to customers about feeding raw foods, many are open to it. Those who aren't tend to have 1 of 3 main concerns (or some combo of them).
1- It will cost too much
2- It's too much work
3- Fear of salmonella
I am choosing to focus on that last one here as it comes up in many of the conversations I have, sometimes after someone has gone to their regular vet and mentioned feeding raw food. I was grateful that Dr. Sara, a licensed veterinarian with a good understanding of nutrition, was able to take the time and answer some questions for us. Below are my questions (in bold) with Dr. Sara's answers.
1- It will cost too much
2- It's too much work
3- Fear of salmonella
I am choosing to focus on that last one here as it comes up in many of the conversations I have, sometimes after someone has gone to their regular vet and mentioned feeding raw food. I was grateful that Dr. Sara, a licensed veterinarian with a good understanding of nutrition, was able to take the time and answer some questions for us. Below are my questions (in bold) with Dr. Sara's answers.
1- Is salmonella a concern for dogs & cats?
Salmonella can be a concern for all mammals but is less of a concern for carnivores. Salmonella lives in most places in our natural environment- water, soil and sometimes plants. It has adapted remarkably well to diverse environments. Salmonella can survive weeks in water and years in the soil if there are favorable conditions. Salmonella thrives when conditions of humidity, temperature and pH are favorable in areas like sitting water, wet soil shielded from the sun, and unclean fecal contaminated areas. The principal habitat of Salmonella is the intestinal tract of humans and animals making all mammals susceptible to salmonella. Birds and reptiles have salmonella in their GI tract as normal bacteria. Carnivores (cats) and Carnivorous Omnivores (dogs) have low stomach pH, meaning the stomach acid is stronger than people (omnivores) making it harder for salmonella to make it through their stomach. Though either can also have low levels of Salmonella naturally in the GI tract, it is lower in the intestine and typically kept in check by the other normal flora of the intestines.
It’s important to remember and note that salmonella can be found in up to 36 percent of all healthy dogs and 18 percent of healthy cats regardless of the food they consume. Many pets harbor these bacteria as a part of their normal GI flora and naturally shed salmonella organisms in feces and saliva regardless of what food they eat.
As said earlier, all non-typhoid salmonella species are ubiquitously present in the environment and reside in the GI tracts of many animals, including pets. The fact is the majority of human salmonellosis cases are acquired through ingestion or handling of contaminated dry pet foods and treats – not raw meat. There has been no known reported incidence of human beings being infected with salmonella by raw-fed cats and dogs.
2- Are any animals more at risk due to age or health concerns?
Those that are at higher risk of an infection are extremes of age: pediatric or geriatric, decreased gastric acidy (higher pH in stomach due to antacids or other medications, altered GI bacteria due to medications like antibiotics or those recovering from a GI surgery, immunosuppressed or immunocompromised, and lastly, those with decreased bowel motility.
3- It is my belief that a raw diet has numerous health benefits, especially for young animals getting their start in life or for aging animals so the body can get better nutrition with less effort vs. dry food. Do you caution against using raw in these animals, or are there certain steps you recommend to limit risk? Would something like The Honest Kitchen or My Perfect Pet, both lightly cooked fresh food diets, be a better choice?
While it is my belief that raw diets have numerous health benefits, I do not believe there is any perfect diet for every pet. I do not recommend against a raw diet in pediatric or geriatric patients, however I do like to go over with clients, especially of very young pets, the diet of the parents. If the parents/ grandparents/ great grandparents have been on low quality diets, their pet may not have the enzymes needed to digest real raw food. These patients can slowly be moved to a raw diet, but will need time to develop the proper enzymes. And for older patients, they sometimes quit making the necessary enzymes needed. For these patients, using a freeze dried or dehydrated real food is certainly an option, also adding lightly cooked foods.
4- In your career as a veterinarian, have you ever treated any dogs or cats who have become sick from salmonella?
In my 18 years of practice, I have never treated a patient that has gotten salmonella from a raw food diet. I have had a couple of patients over the years that came in who were on a kibble diet. They presented sick with the signs of possible salmonella infection or dysbiosis. The pets kibble had been recalled due to salmonella contamination.
In the last 2 years, there have been many recalls of dry food and treats for salmonella, many more than in raw foods. In 2012, the FDA launched a national effort to test products for the presence of potentially harmful microbes with a goal of evaluating the prevalence of salmonella in pet foods and treats. This is because, as stated earlier, humans and animals handle this organism very differently. The identification of salmonella in pet foods is responsible for the majority of recalls due, not to pet health concerns, but human health concerns. Many people have become sick by touching or accidentally consuming salmonella in dry pet foods or treats over the last several years. Interestingly, there have never been any reported human or animal outbreaks of salmonella from consuming or handling raw pet food. There have also been recalls in salad/ vegetables from grocery stores due to bacterial contamination from manure run off, poor hygienic practices and antibiotic over use in farmed animals
5- It's also my understanding that while cooking foods kills salmonella, it is often reintroduced after the cooking process in mass produced foods. It seems the only 100% way to eliminate risk is to do all the final cooking at home where you can control what happens after it's cooked. This seems extreme and unreasonable. Do you personally take any steps at home to reduce potential risks?
This is true, which is why a lot of dry foods have been recalled for various reasons, not just salmonella. At my house, we use common sense and good hygienic practice. (Kelly's note: for some tips, read this)
6- In your opinion, why do many traditional vets caution against raw food due to bacterial concerns?
Most conventional vets caution against the use of raw out of fear from lack of education/ training and liability. Nutrition courses in vet school are lacking and what is available is usually sponsored by Hills or Iams.
7-You had conventional schooling on top of holistic training, correct? At what point did you realize that the nutrition training you received in school was lacking?
Yes, that is correct. I was very lucky and grew up in a house where my mother was a dietitian/ nutritionist and my father is a pediatrician with a focus on diet related issues like asthma or celiac. I also took an animal science nutrition course before I went to vet school. Both of these things helped me take a better look at how to feed my own animals as well as my patients. On of the biggest things that struck me was that my father never told his parents “ Only feed your child brand XYZ because feeding a homemade diet could be dangerous to your child’s health”. He also never told parents, “Switching your child’s food could lead to GI Issues, so only feed brand XYZ to your children for the rest of their lives.” My father never said this, nor would you hear this from a competent pediatrician. However, as veterinarians, that is what we are taught to tell clients. You, as owners, hear this type of advice from the pet care industry all the time. I also find it interesting that a lot of pet parents buy into marketing gimmicks.
8- If someone has an older or immune compromised animal and is interested in introducing fresh food to the diet, but nervous about health risks and wants the guidance of a vet who is familiar and comfortable with raw food, do you do phone consultations in those types of situations?
Introducing fresh food into the diet is always a good idea. There are ways that this introduction can be safely done. I am open to doing consultations for diets however email is a better than the phone. (Kelly's note: Visit here for a full list of Dr. Sara's services)
Salmonella can be a concern for all mammals but is less of a concern for carnivores. Salmonella lives in most places in our natural environment- water, soil and sometimes plants. It has adapted remarkably well to diverse environments. Salmonella can survive weeks in water and years in the soil if there are favorable conditions. Salmonella thrives when conditions of humidity, temperature and pH are favorable in areas like sitting water, wet soil shielded from the sun, and unclean fecal contaminated areas. The principal habitat of Salmonella is the intestinal tract of humans and animals making all mammals susceptible to salmonella. Birds and reptiles have salmonella in their GI tract as normal bacteria. Carnivores (cats) and Carnivorous Omnivores (dogs) have low stomach pH, meaning the stomach acid is stronger than people (omnivores) making it harder for salmonella to make it through their stomach. Though either can also have low levels of Salmonella naturally in the GI tract, it is lower in the intestine and typically kept in check by the other normal flora of the intestines.
It’s important to remember and note that salmonella can be found in up to 36 percent of all healthy dogs and 18 percent of healthy cats regardless of the food they consume. Many pets harbor these bacteria as a part of their normal GI flora and naturally shed salmonella organisms in feces and saliva regardless of what food they eat.
As said earlier, all non-typhoid salmonella species are ubiquitously present in the environment and reside in the GI tracts of many animals, including pets. The fact is the majority of human salmonellosis cases are acquired through ingestion or handling of contaminated dry pet foods and treats – not raw meat. There has been no known reported incidence of human beings being infected with salmonella by raw-fed cats and dogs.
2- Are any animals more at risk due to age or health concerns?
Those that are at higher risk of an infection are extremes of age: pediatric or geriatric, decreased gastric acidy (higher pH in stomach due to antacids or other medications, altered GI bacteria due to medications like antibiotics or those recovering from a GI surgery, immunosuppressed or immunocompromised, and lastly, those with decreased bowel motility.
3- It is my belief that a raw diet has numerous health benefits, especially for young animals getting their start in life or for aging animals so the body can get better nutrition with less effort vs. dry food. Do you caution against using raw in these animals, or are there certain steps you recommend to limit risk? Would something like The Honest Kitchen or My Perfect Pet, both lightly cooked fresh food diets, be a better choice?
While it is my belief that raw diets have numerous health benefits, I do not believe there is any perfect diet for every pet. I do not recommend against a raw diet in pediatric or geriatric patients, however I do like to go over with clients, especially of very young pets, the diet of the parents. If the parents/ grandparents/ great grandparents have been on low quality diets, their pet may not have the enzymes needed to digest real raw food. These patients can slowly be moved to a raw diet, but will need time to develop the proper enzymes. And for older patients, they sometimes quit making the necessary enzymes needed. For these patients, using a freeze dried or dehydrated real food is certainly an option, also adding lightly cooked foods.
4- In your career as a veterinarian, have you ever treated any dogs or cats who have become sick from salmonella?
In my 18 years of practice, I have never treated a patient that has gotten salmonella from a raw food diet. I have had a couple of patients over the years that came in who were on a kibble diet. They presented sick with the signs of possible salmonella infection or dysbiosis. The pets kibble had been recalled due to salmonella contamination.
In the last 2 years, there have been many recalls of dry food and treats for salmonella, many more than in raw foods. In 2012, the FDA launched a national effort to test products for the presence of potentially harmful microbes with a goal of evaluating the prevalence of salmonella in pet foods and treats. This is because, as stated earlier, humans and animals handle this organism very differently. The identification of salmonella in pet foods is responsible for the majority of recalls due, not to pet health concerns, but human health concerns. Many people have become sick by touching or accidentally consuming salmonella in dry pet foods or treats over the last several years. Interestingly, there have never been any reported human or animal outbreaks of salmonella from consuming or handling raw pet food. There have also been recalls in salad/ vegetables from grocery stores due to bacterial contamination from manure run off, poor hygienic practices and antibiotic over use in farmed animals
5- It's also my understanding that while cooking foods kills salmonella, it is often reintroduced after the cooking process in mass produced foods. It seems the only 100% way to eliminate risk is to do all the final cooking at home where you can control what happens after it's cooked. This seems extreme and unreasonable. Do you personally take any steps at home to reduce potential risks?
This is true, which is why a lot of dry foods have been recalled for various reasons, not just salmonella. At my house, we use common sense and good hygienic practice. (Kelly's note: for some tips, read this)
6- In your opinion, why do many traditional vets caution against raw food due to bacterial concerns?
Most conventional vets caution against the use of raw out of fear from lack of education/ training and liability. Nutrition courses in vet school are lacking and what is available is usually sponsored by Hills or Iams.
7-You had conventional schooling on top of holistic training, correct? At what point did you realize that the nutrition training you received in school was lacking?
Yes, that is correct. I was very lucky and grew up in a house where my mother was a dietitian/ nutritionist and my father is a pediatrician with a focus on diet related issues like asthma or celiac. I also took an animal science nutrition course before I went to vet school. Both of these things helped me take a better look at how to feed my own animals as well as my patients. On of the biggest things that struck me was that my father never told his parents “ Only feed your child brand XYZ because feeding a homemade diet could be dangerous to your child’s health”. He also never told parents, “Switching your child’s food could lead to GI Issues, so only feed brand XYZ to your children for the rest of their lives.” My father never said this, nor would you hear this from a competent pediatrician. However, as veterinarians, that is what we are taught to tell clients. You, as owners, hear this type of advice from the pet care industry all the time. I also find it interesting that a lot of pet parents buy into marketing gimmicks.
8- If someone has an older or immune compromised animal and is interested in introducing fresh food to the diet, but nervous about health risks and wants the guidance of a vet who is familiar and comfortable with raw food, do you do phone consultations in those types of situations?
Introducing fresh food into the diet is always a good idea. There are ways that this introduction can be safely done. I am open to doing consultations for diets however email is a better than the phone. (Kelly's note: Visit here for a full list of Dr. Sara's services)