Food Safety Considerations for Pet Food

One in five U.S. households adopted a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the most recent statistics from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, highlighting the importance of safe food for dogs and cats as they become part of the family for companionship, protection, and comfort.

People increasingly want a balanced diet derived from safe, high quality ingredients for both their pets and human family members, and both types of foods are regulated by FDA. But, there are some key differences that make food quality and safety for pet food challenging says Austin Therrell, PhD, executive director of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), a Champaign, Ill.-based nonprofit that guides state, federal, and international feed regulators with ingredient definitions, labels, and laboratory standards, adding, “Complete and balanced pet food is comparable to baby formula for humans in many ways [in that] in most cases our pets rely on the same source of food every day to meet all their nutritional needs.”

He says that any nutrient imbalances in pet food can potentially cause deficiencies or toxicities that are food safety challenges. Therefore, he says, it’s important for regulators to ensure that ingredients used in commercial pet foods have gone through the appropriate reviews to confirm that they are safe for their intended use and diet because animals have different needs at different ages.

The nutritional needs of dogs and cats also differ. “With pets mainly eating one brand of pet food that is complete and balanced, it is essential [that] all the nutrition they require for their species and life state is maintained in the product in every single batch,” he says. “There have been several instances of recalls related to nutritional toxicities or deficiencies.”

At the federal level, section 210(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines food as articles intended for food or drink for man and other animals. There are similar definitions in title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations parts 117 and 507. Dr. Therrell says that, while regulations for food for humans and for other animals are closely related, there are some big differences in nutritional and labeling requirements due to the number of different types of animals.

Cross Contamination, Other Risks

Another safety risk is potential sickness, because more pets are living in homes and acting as part of the family, even sleeping with their owners. People may feed their pets at the same time they are preparing their own food, increasing the risk of cross contamination between the foods. Their close proximity as family members puts humans and their animals at risk if the pet food is contaminated, Dr. Therrell says.

If pet food were contaminated with a zoonotic pathogen such as Salmonella, humans handling the food or those who are exposed to pets that consumed it could get sick even if the pet is not showing symptoms of salmonellosis, he adds, noting that children are particularly at risk. “Regulators have to account for more transmission pathways of any contaminants or adulterants in pet food,” Dr. Therrell says. “The pet food industry has to consider many of the same risks that the human food industry does, if not more, because of the diversity of the animals consuming the products and the humans handling the products.”

Another difference between animal and human food is regulations for allergens, which do not apply to pet food. Food ingredients rarely cause allergic reactions in pets, says Marissa Herchler Cohen, PhD, area specialized agent for animal food safety at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. Allergens are also not typically a consideration in assessing exotic ingredients. They have to go through the same approval process at the FDA level with a food additive petition, be generally regarded as safe, or go through the AAFCO definition process, each of which shows the ingredient is proven to be safe for its intended use, she adds.