Because an increasing number of cats have become sick or died after eating raw pet food or raw milk contaminated with the H5N1 virus, health officials have advised pet food companies to take extra precautions to protect against bird flu.
In modern guidance, The FDA suggested that pet food manufacturers take precautions in their food safety plans, such as “looking for ingredients from healthy flocks or herds” and “taking processing steps, such as heat treatment, that are capable of not reactivating viruses.”
since The H5N1 virus began spreading in 2022There have been bird outbreaks in every state.
Cats appear to be particularly susceptible to the H5N1 virus. Since the current H5N1 outbreak in 2022, dozens of domestic and feral cats have been infected. Some farm cats got sick from Drink raw milk. Others have died yet Eating raw pet food Contaminated with bird flu virus.
The FDA guidelines are short on details, said Dr. Jane Sykes, a professor of small animal internal medicine at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.
“It doesn’t have any strict instructions on how to make sure there’s no H5N1 in foods,” she said. “They don’t specifically say how to test or whether heat treatment is necessary.”
FDA too Post advice For pet owners it is suggested to cook raw pet foods to eliminate risks.
“There have been several recent investigations suggesting transmission of H5N1 to cats through food, most often unpasteurized milk or uncooked meat,” the FDA said in its warning. “H5N1 can be fatal to cats, as well as dogs, so we encourage consumers to carefully consider the risk of this emerging pathogen before feeding their pets uncooked meat or an uncooked pet food product.”
both of them Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Veterinary Medical Association Discourage feeding uncooked diets to companion animals due to the presence of potential pathogens, including H5N1.
“Heat treatments have been shown to be effective for inactivating H5N1 in meat, milk, and egg products,” the FDA said in its consumer advisory. “We recommend that consumers follow USDA guidelines For handling and thorough cooking of raw meat before feeding. Animals must also be kept from hunting and consumption of wild birds. “
Dr. J. said: Scott Weiss, a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and director of the Center for Public Health at the University of Guelph, said compliance with the FDA guidance is voluntary.
“Companies have to decide what they want to do,” Weiss said. “The FDA is trying to move away from dictation practices. This is a first step. If there are more cases, they may take stronger steps.”
The agency could require that commercially available pet foods be treated to inactivate pathogens or require regular testing, Sykes said.
In addition, the agency may require companies that market raw diets to place warning labels on their products regarding the risk of food-borne illness in pets and humans who handle the products.
The FDA did not respond to a request for comment.
NBC News reached out to five raw food companies by phone and email for comment on the FDA guidance.
“We live in a rapidly changing world, and are constantly monitoring potential risks, such as avian influenza, so we can reevaluate our food safety plans accordingly,” said Brooke Zentz, director of food safety and quality at Nutrients. Email. “Like the FDA, we recognize the risks of pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and have processes in place to mitigate that risk.”
Besides careful sourcing of ingredients, Zentz said, the company uses a process called high-pressure processing, or pasteurization, (HPP) to eliminate pathogens.
Amy Zalnertis, co-founder and chief brand officer at WE Feed Raw, said the company values safety.
“All of our meat comes from our USDA-certified suppliers who meet strong quality standards,” Zalernitis said in an email. “As an added safety step, we use HPP on all of our meats.”
Three raw pet food manufacturers, Primal Pet Foods, Stella & Chewy’s and Carnivore Meat Company, did not respond to requests for comment.
HPP is an approach that is prescribed to kill pathogens by putting foods under extremely high pressure, although viruses can survive the process, Weiss said.
“It’s better than nothing, but if you want to be really confident, cooking is the only sure thing,” Wes said. The HPP process can eliminate H5N1, “but it depends on how you do it, the exact pressure and time.”
This is why HPP should be considered “risk reduction” rather than “risk elimination”.
Experts agree cooking is the only way to completely protect pets from bird flu-contaminated foods.
“If you want to be really confident, cooking is the only sure thing,” Weiss said.
Similar to preparing poultry and eggs for human consumption, Cook poultry in raw pet food to internal temperature of 165 F kills bacteria and viruses, including H5N1, according to the CDC.
People often think so Freezing foods Sykes said it would kill viruses and bacteria, but that’s not true. She added that the only sure way to kill pathogens is through heat.
For people who want to stick to the raw label of freeze-dried foods they have, suggest they cook them before feeding them.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
