Quote:
Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom  First, Phil - I always love that you seek out data - you're so valuable to all the discussions that occur here  ! But....I think I can only take this experiment with a grain of salt - PLEASE note what was tested here in "Phase 2": "Raw dog and cat foods, exotic animal feed, and jerky-type treats purchased through the Internet were tested in Phase 2" ---- I mean...??!
How on earth do we know or not know whether 99% of the bacteria wasn't all found in these "jerky treats". Using this experiment as evidence against proper feeding of properly bought and prepared raw PET FOOD (not jerky treats, NOT exotic feed) seems grossly unfair and inaccurate. Ever heard what is found on Bully Sticks (hello clostridium etc!)...? Treats are some of the most germ-infested items on the pet market. Totally unfair to put raw food (which is treated TOTALLY different in manufacturing!) and jerky treats in the same silo!
If I have some time, I will try to locate the info regarding salmonella in kibble bags...it's on YT somewhere, which can be tough to locate. It used to say "wash hands, salmonella warning etc" on every kibble bag, btw...so it's a very real thing - not something made up.
Bottom line is (and to Brit's good point) there are germs / bugs everywhere; our paper money bills are infested with e.coli at all times. My firsthand experience for the last * 8 years* of raw feeding is that the grim warnings are grossly overwrought and perhaps are put out there for other reasons. The FDA and USDA are not groups I trust - as their "studies" are often designed to achieve a message they want to craft, wrapped in statistics that aren't exactly clean, but still achieve their goal (the real goal often being cloaked in some other end-point, which is hugely frustrating!). |
Good point about not knowing which raw foods had the bacteria--whether it was the cat and dog foods or the exotic pet foods or jerky treats. I'll recheck the article and see if they say which foods tested positive--it might be in a table somewhere.
Thanks for not being offended by my persistence. And I always love examining a good scientific article, so if you can find one, I'll take a look and let you know what I think.
About the FDA and USDA, they're better than the way things used to be (no testing or regulations whatsoever--think of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"
BRIA 24 1 b Upton Sinclairs The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry - Constitutional Rights Foundation), but there is always room for improvement
.