Consuming raw meat is a risk not only for human health, but also for pets such as dogs and cats, warns a new Dutch scientific research.

The problem lies in parasites and microbes such as salmonella and E.coli, often found in uncooked meat containing raw-meat based diets (RMBDs).

Researchers at the University of Utrecht, led by Paul Overgaauw, who published the publication in the Vet Record of the British Veterinary Association, analyzed 35 frozen foods containing raw meat (RMBDs) from eight different companies.

The bacterium E. coli was found in eight products (23%), the bacteria Listeria in 15 products (43%) and Salmonella in seven (20%). All of these bacteria have been associated with dangerous infections in humans.

Four products (11%) contained one species of the parasite of the sarcoplast, and another four another species of the same parasite. Toxoplasm was found in two products (6%).

Frozen meat meals, available through pet stores and supermarkets, have become popular in recent years around the world.

“It is clear that commercial RMBDs can be contaminated with various pathogenic bacteria and parasites, which may be the source of bacterial infections in pets, which, if transmitted to humans, will put them at risk,” the researchers said.

They added that “cats and dogs eating raw meat are also more likely to be infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria than animals that eat more conventional foods, with the consequence that there is a serious risk to both animal health and more generally for public health “.

People can be infected by coming in either direct contact with food with the infected raw meat, either with the infected animal or with a contaminated surface of the house.

Source: thegreekobserver.com