By Deb Angus
October 2024
Select products sold under the Darwin’s Natural Pet Products brand, manufactured by Arrow Reliance, Inc., were identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (in September, 2024) to contain Salmonella and Listeria, both which can cause illness and death in animals and humans. Consequently, the FDA recommended that Arrow Reliance, manufacturer of several Darwin’s Natural Selections products, recall six lots of product.
But, the FDA indicated that Arrow Reliance “has not recalled the affected products and could continue to distribute them,” an act that prompted the FDA to advise consumers. What does that mean for dog owners? The FDA has published a list of affected lots (see their advisory via this link) and encourages anyone who has purchased any of the listed products to destroy the food and thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces where the food may have been in contact.
The manufacturers of Darwin’s have an interesting perspective, as explained on their website at darwinspet.com. Gary Tashjian, Darwin’s Founder, explains on their “Our Story” page that, as many other owners, his dog was suffering from crippling arthritis. When trying to find a solution, Tashjian spoke with a holistic veterinarian who suggested the dog’s food might have contributed to the situation.
Long story short, Tashjian said he found some recipes and started making his dog’s meals with raw food. Within a month, his dog had made a turn around. “In just 30 days he was acting more like a puppy than an old dog and he had regained his joyful attitude.”
Raw Food Efficacy
The situation that Arrow finds itself begs the question, is raw food appropriate for pets? Current trends, as USA Today explained in an August 10, 2024 article by Clare Mulroy, push a “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food” regime (and, unbelievably, the acronym is BARF). BARF proponents claim health, digestive, coat and skin, weight, growth and life-extension benefits.
But, is there science behind the claims?
I searched Google for “Is raw meat good for your dog” and the many returns were interesting. Here are a few.
Purina, a leader in the pet food market cited by Euromonitor as having 20.6% market share, says, “Raw meat is likely to contain harmful bacterial like Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and more. Cooking meat to a safe temperature kills off those harmful bacteria.” Campylobacter, Clostridium and Trichinosis are also mentioned in blogs as other potential pathogens associated with raw meat.
When bacteria, like those aforementioned, are present, it can cause illness in pets and human handlers. Pet MD reminds: “While their (pets’) bodies do still have the ability to digest raw animal protein, it’s not a good idea to feed them raw meat. That’s because raw meat and fish can cause serious health issues like food poisoning, which can even make you and other members of your household sick—not just your dog.”
Pawlicy Advisor, found at Pawlicy.com, notes in a blog: “More importantly, even if your pet doesn’t become sick from the bacteria in raw dog food, he or she will spread infective spores everywhere…”
For me, it makes sense that there can be possible bacteria in raw food products, so sure, handling and washing hands are clear priorities. But, even with extra precautions, I know my pets. They eat, snuggle up in my lap, lay all over my blankies, rub up on every possible surface and lick me all over – yeah, my pets are a big steaming pot of love! Potentially spreading around additional bacteria is not something I need to deal with.
I’ll let this final thought from The Canadian Veterinary Journal be the final thought. In an article published on the National Library of Medicine website, the author, Veterinarian Lea Stogdale, reminds that the final decision on what to feed the animal is always up to the owner. The article doesn’t necessarily promote feeding raw food to pets, but does have some cautions.
“Raw food is not appropriate for any dog or cat whose immune system is suppressed because of significant disease or [those on] immune suppressant medications. Pets with severe disease such as moderately advanced heart, kidney, or liver dysfunction, diabetes, or cancer should not be fed a raw diet that may contain pathogenic bacteria. If the owner wants to feed a high protein diet for diabetes or cancer, for instance, some raw diets may be cooked and vitamins added just before feeding, or an HPP product could be fed.”
Author’s Note: Most all information regarding raw food published online quoted in this article are from organizations or individuals involved in producing and selling dog food.
Find references related to above quotes at:
Pet MD | https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-raw-meat
Pawlicy Advisor | https://www.pawlicy.com/blog/can-dogs-eat-raw-meat/
National Library of Science | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6515799/#
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