Sunday, August 5, 2012

AVMA's Raw Food Recommendation


In keeping with my series on what to feed your pet here is a timely story sparked by the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) recent recommendations against feeding raw food.

2 comments:

  1. From the studies cited by the AVMA:

    "The increasing popularity of raw food diets for companion animals is another potential pet-associated source of Salmonella organisms; however, no confirmed cases of human salmonellosis have been associated with these diets."

    "To date, there have been no published reports of salmonellosis occurring in dogs as a result of exposure to natural pet treats."

    "To date, there has been only one published report of salmonellosis occurring in cats as a result of exposure to raw food diets. Septicemic salmonellosis was diagnosed in 2 cats that underwent necropsy at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia (Athens, GA)."

    "To date, raw pet foods have not been associated with salmonellosis in humans; however, identification of Salmonella-contaminated food and Salmonella shedding by pets that have been fed raw food diets should raise concern."

    http://www.iowapetadoptions.com/avma-policy-against-raw-pet-food-august-2012

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  2. I assume that this comment is supposed to point out that cases of Salmonellosis from raw food has not been proven but they seemed to have missed the point of the entire position statement as well as my message. Pets fed a raw diet have increased shedding of pathogenic bacteria in their stool which COULD result in a serious health hazard for some people, especially children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. If you want to roll the dice by all means help yourself but be aware of the potential risks.

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