The study examined 112 commercial cat food products bought from major grocery chains and online vendors. Out of these, 85 were raw while 27 were conventionally cooked.
“Parasite genes were exclusively detected in raw foods,” the study stated.
“The presence of pathogenic species and high load of resistance genes in raw commercial food products, particularly those sold on shelves at room temperature, suggests a considerable health risk to cats and the families who care for them.”
Close-quarters living poses a significant risk of transmission between pets and their families, as well as other animals, the study said.
It noted that “not a single freeze-dried product we purchased was fully cooked prior to freeze-drying,” which was unexpected from such a considerable sample size.
“Out of 49 freeze-dried products purchased, all containing uncooked meat in the form of treats or coated kibble, only a small minority indicated some place on the packaging that it was raw,” the study said.
As the products are sold in stores at ambient temperature, a customer could purchase them without being aware that it was uncooked and contained viable microbes.
“Easily legible label warnings on packaging would potentially reduce morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals,” the study said.
Researchers uploaded the results to a federal database used to match human incidences of salmonellosis, a disease caused by salmonella.
“There were indeed some human cases that were genetically very similar to our isolates,” said Laura Goodman, senior author of the paper, adding that this indicated people got sick from being exposed to the same products analyzed in the study.
Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Potentially Deadly Pathogens
Clostridium perfringens, bacteria responsible for gastroenteritis, were found in freeze-dried cat treats and coated kibble. The CDC estimates that the bacteria cause almost a million food poisoning incidents annually in the United States.Klebsiella, a bacterium that can potentially cause urinary tract infections and pneumonia, was discovered in raw samples. Cronobacter and E. coli were the other microbes identified in the cat foods, the Cornell report said.
Additionally, some of the items were found to contain chicken, even though their labels did not mention the ingredient. Pet owners may avoid feeding chicken to cats due to the fear of avian influenza, or bird flu, a disease that can often be fatal for cats.
As pathogens in the product can transfer from pets to humans, they are of particular concern, especially among vulnerable populations such as immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, pregnant women, and young children.
“Most of these products have no warning labels on them showing that the meat ingredients are not fully cooked, indicating that they could harbor live bacteria and potentially viruses and parasites that would make a family very sick,” Goodman said.
“Particularly for the freeze-dried products sold on shelves, consumers likely have no idea they are taking on that risk.”
The project was funded by the Cornell Feline Health Center Natural Nutrition Award. One of the researchers declared competing interests in the study, having held an expert witness contract with the Food and Drug Administration at the time the experiments were conducted.
Multiple cat food products have been recalled over the past year due to concerns about microbial contamination.
“Salmonella and Listeria can affect animals eating the products, and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products,” said the announcement.
On March 1, Washington-based Wild Coast LLC withdrew several lots of frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula raw pet food for cats due to concerns of potential avian flu contamination.
“The PURR Act will provide more consistent, efficient, and transparent federal regulatory oversight for the safe and nutritious food that we feed our pets,” said Vic Mason, president of the World Pet Association.
