Just like when preparing human food; It is critical to follow the same rules while preparing pet food. Allow me explain about food safety when preparing pet food.
What are we looking out from?
Food poisonings are caused by contaminated food. Contamination can be caused by factors in the food, the person preparing the food or the surrounding. Food contamination factors include Viruses, parasites, molds, contaminants and pathogens. These can transfer from one ingredients, or source, to another by cross contamination; Meaning, if you touch a chicken piece with Salmonella and than touch a fruit or person, you will transfer the pathogen.
The most common contamination causes are from the viruses family; These include Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. Coli, Listeria, and Clostridium. These pathogens are mostly found in the raw material such as chicken, meat and eggs.
E. Coli is an intestinal bacteria which also found humans and mostly transferred by not washing hands after exiting the toilet.
Parasites can be found in raw materials such as meat, grains and vegetables or mistreated cooked meat. Molds are found on vegetables and fruits, nuts and ready to eat food. Other pollutants include pesticides for example.
What are the symptoms of food poisoning?
Most of the symptoms regarding all the sources are the same and include watery diarrhea, with or without blood, vomiting, abdominal pain, nausea, disorientation, confusion, fever and general weakness.
If you see these symptoms, contact your vet immediately.
Food safety when preparing pet food
First and foremost, keep everything clean. This means hands, utensils and work surfaces.
Hand washing is done using soap under running water for 20 seconds. You need to wash your hands before, during and after the food preparation. Especially between touching different ingredients. Also, wash hands after sneezing and if you had touched the garbage.
You need to wash the work surface and utensils after every use and between changing ingredients. For example, between working with meat and vegetables.
Second rule is to keep everything separated in order to prevent cross contamination. Its recommended to have one cutting board for meat and another for vegetables and fruits.
Watch your temperatures
The danger zone for bacteria to rapidly grow is between 4-60 degrees. This is why it is very important that fresh, frozen or cooked foods wont be left in this temperature for long periods of time. For instance, bacteria can grow in cooked food within an hour at room temperature.
So, enter cooked food into the refrigerator or freezer in an hour after preparation is done. And, don’t live out food bowls with fresh or cooked food over half an hour. Remember that flies are also a source for contamination.
Don’t thaw food on the counter. The safest way to thaw is in the refrigerator. You may thaw meat in a water bowl on the counter but remember to change the water every half an hour. Of course you can cook without thawing; It will prolong cooking times in 50%.
When meat is taking out of the freezer, the rapid temperature increase cause the development of bacteria. Freezing doesn’t kill the bacteria, it simply freezes their growth. Hence, you shouldn’t refreeze meat or cooked food after it had been thawed once.
How to kill pathogens?
You kill pathogens, bacteria and parasites by heat. Hence, cooking. The meaning of cooking is that the core temperature of the food will reach 60 degrees for at list a few minutes, depending on the type of pollutant.
Pathogens and pets
Its true that the digestive tract of dogs and cats is extremely strong. Their stomach is meant to handle bacteria, parasites and pathogens. A recent study conducted on beagles had shown that dogs fed food contaminated with Salmonella, didn’t became ill and the pathogen was secreted in the feces.
The main risk of contamination isn’t for healthy dogs and cats. But rather, for their human companions along with puppies and elderly pets or pets with a sensitive immune system. If your dog will eat food contaminated with Salmonella and then lick you or your child, the pathogen present in his mouth will transfer to you.
Other pathogens such as E.coli, transferred mostly from humans to pets, are harder for even healthy pets to handle.
Recognizing contaminated food
Some pollutants are easy to spot, whilst others are not. For example, you may spot the presence of parasites or mold on the food. But, most pollutants are impossible to spot with the naked eye.
So, what can we do?
Know from who you are buying your raw materials and food. Make sure to buy from a respectable vendor of human grade foods. Follow correct hygiene protocols as I have listed above.
Most importantly, if you have any doubt, even the smallest one, that the food is bad, throw it away.
You are welcome to contact me with any question regarding food preparation.
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