Position Statements

Safety of Raw Meat-Based Pet Food Products

October 16, 2023

Position

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) finds there is compelling evidence for health risks to pets fed raw meat-based (RMB) pet food products, including raw meat-based diets (RMBD), and to humans who are in contact with such products or in contact with pets that consume them. The CVMA holds that the scientific evidence of animal and human health risks in feeding RMB pet food products outweighs any purported benefits.

Summary

  • Numerous studies over the past several decades have demonstrated that raw meat-based (RMB) pet food products, including raw meat-based diets (RMBD) may contain pathogens harmful to animals and people including bacteria, parasites and antimicrobial resistant organisms.
  • RMBD diets may or may not be balanced with all essential nutrients. Unbalanced diets can impact the well-being, growth and development of dogs.
  • A number of national and international veterinary associations have cautioned against feeding of RMBD over concerns of risks to human and animal health due to the likely presence of pathogens in the diets.
  • There are limited data supporting clinically relevant beneficial impacts in dogs fed RMBD over appropriate conventional cooked diets.
  • The CVMA highly recommends that veterinarians counsel owners wishing to feed RMB pet food products on the risks to themselves, vulnerable members of the household (such as immunocompromised or pregnant individuals), and their pets as a result of feeding such products.
  • The CVMA advises veterinarians who recommend, feed to patients, or sell RMB pet food products to be aware of perceived or actual conflicts of interest; to inform pet owners of associated risks, and to educate owners on how to mitigate the potential risk of pathogen exposure from handling such products.

Background

  1. Raw-meat-based (RMB) pet food products, including raw-meat-based diets (RMBD), consist of uncooked ingredients that are derived from domesticated or wild-caught food animal species, and fed to dogs or cats living in home environments. RMBD may be home or commercially- prepared. The latter are sold in a variety of prepared states including, for example, freeze-dried, dehydrated, raw frozen, and prepared under high-pressure pasteurization (HPP). Commercial RMBD are typically sold at retail outlets and may or may not be labeled as nutritionally “complete and balanced”. Other RMB pet food products may not be in the form “diets” but rather may be presented for sale as “pet chews” or “pet treats” (e.g., freeze-dried liver treats). (1).
  2. Commercial RMBD may be designated as meeting the nutritional standards of Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Dog or Cat Food Nutrient Profiles which are based on the National Research Council Nutrient Requirements of Cats and Dogs (2). Non-AAFCO-designated diets should not be fed as primary diets since they may not be properly balanced and therefore such use could result in serious nutritional deficiencies. (3,4,5).
  3. Numerous studies over the past several decades have demonstrated that uncooked RMBDs may contain pathogens harmful to animals and people, such as bacteria (including antimicrobial-resistant species) and parasites. Humans may become infected through cross-contamination of surfaces or utensils or through contact with an infected pet (6,7,8,9,10). There are limited data supporting clinically relevant beneficial impacts in dogs fed RMBD over appropriate conventional cooked diets. (7)
  4. Immunocompromised, very young or elderly individuals in households that feed pets RMBD are likely to be at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from such acquired infections (7) A cluster of human infections acquired by way of RMBDs resulted in a human fatality (11).
  5. RMBD prepared using HPP may have reduced pathogens levels from what are found in uncooked diets; however, HPP pet food diets should not be considered to be pathogen-free. (12)
  6. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) does not regulate the manufacture of pet food, including RMB pet food products, for domestic sale in Canada. The oversight of pet food by the CFIA is limited to compliance with regulatory requirements for import and export of animal products and by- products. CFIA provides inspection and certification services for pet foods that are made in Canada and intended for export (13).
  7. There is evidence that owners feeding RMBDs are more likely to rely on informal advice such as that gleaned from social media and other sources and less on that obtained from a veterinarian. (14).
  8. National and international veterinary associations including the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (15), the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (16), the American Veterinary Medical Association (17), and the American Animal Hospital Association (18), among others, have cautioned against feeding of RMBDs over concerns of risks to human and animal health due to the likely presence of pathogens in the diets.
  9. The CVMA highly recommends that veterinarians counsel owners wishing to feed RMB pet food products on the risks to themselves, vulnerable members of the household (such as immunocompromised or pregnant individuals), and their pets as a result of feeding RMBDs. This conversation should be documented in the medical record.
  10. The CVMA advises veterinarians who recommend, feed to patients, or sell RMB pet food products to be aware of perceived or actual conflicts of interest; to inform pet owners of associated risks, and to educate owners on how to mitigate the potential risk of pathogen exposure from handling such products.

References

  1. Stogdale, L. One veterinarian’s experience with owners who are feeding raw meat to their pets. Can Vet J. 2019 Jun; 60(6): 655–658 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6515799/
  2. National Research Council. 2006. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10668
  3. Dillitzer N, Becker N, Kienzle E. Intake of minerals, trace elements, and vitamins in bone and raw food rations fed in adult dogs. Brit J of Nutr 2011;106:S53-S56. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22005436 Last accessed October 3, 2017.
  4. Pet Food Association of Canada. Available from: http://pfac.com/.
  5. Zafalon RVA et al. Nutritional inadequacies in commercial vegan foods for dogs and cats. PLoS One. 2020 Jan 17;15(1): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6968870/
  6. Nüesch-Inderbinen, M. et al. Raw meat-based diets for companion animals: a potential source of transmission of pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Royal Society Open Science. Published:16 October 2019. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191170
  7. J R. H. Davies et al. Raw diets for dogs and cats: a review, with particular reference to microbiological hazards. J Small Anim Pract. 2019 Jun; 60(6): 329–339. Published online 2019 Apr 26. doi: 10.1111/jsap.13000
  8. Cristina Bacci. Journal of Food Protection Occurrence and Antimicrobial Profile of Bacterial Pathogens in Former Foodstuff Meat Products Used for Pet Diets Volume 82, Issue 2, 1 February 2019, Pages 316-324 https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-18-352
  9. Fahad Ahmed a b One Health. Volume 13, December 2021, 10032. Raw meat based diet (RMBD) for household pets as potential door opener to parasitic load of domestic and urban environment. Revival of understated zoonotic hazards? A review https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100327.
  10. Groat, EF, et al. J. Small Animal Practice. UK dogs eating raw meat diets have higher risk of Salmonella and antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli faecal carriage First published: 21 February 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13488
  11. Kaindama, L. et al..,. (2021). A cluster of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 highlights raw pet food as an emerging potential source of infection in humans. Epidemiology & Infection, 149, E124. doi: 10.1017/S0950268821001072
  12. Hasty, J. et al (2018) “The Use of High Pressure Processing as a Pathogen Reduction Tool in Raw Pet Food”, Meat and Muscle Biology . https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/mmb/article/id/9159
  13. CFIA Import Policies on Pet Food. Available from: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/animal-products-and-by-products/pet-food/eng/1321129023397/1321129556426 Last accessed
  14. Morgan SK, Willis S, Shepherd ML. Survey of owner motivations and veterinary input of owners feeding diets containing raw animal products. Peer J 2017;2:e3031. Available from: https://peerj.com/articles/3031/ Last accessed October 3, 2017.
  15. World Small Animal Veterinary Association https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Raw-Meat-Based-Diets-for-Pets_WSAVA-Global-Nutrition-Toolkit.pdf
  16. Wales, A. Advise clients about raw feeding dogs and cats. BSAVA Companion, Volume 2019, Issue 8, Aug 2019, p. 10 -15DOI: https://doi.org/10.22233/20412495.0819.10
  17. American Veterinary Medical Association. Raw or undercooked animal-source protein in cat and dog diets. https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/raw-or-undercooked-animal-source-protein-cat-and-dog-diets . Last accessed May 2023.
  18. American Animal Hospital Association (2011). Raw Protein Diet https://www.aaha.org/about-aaha/aaha-position-statements/raw-protein-diet/