The Common Illness Causing Bacteria FDA Neglects to Tell Pet Owners About – Truth about Pet Food

The CDC states: “Clostridium perfringens bacteria are one of the most common causes of foodborne illness (food poisoning). CDC estimates these bacteria cause nearly 1 million illnesses in the United States every year.“

The FDA acknowledges this bacteria too, in their publication “Bad Bug Book” the Agency states this regarding Clostridium perfringens: “The bacteria make tiny spores – a survival mode in which they make an inactive form that can exist without nutrition and that develops very tough protection against the outside world – which can survive cooking. After food is cooked, the spores can turn into full‐fledged bacteria as the food cools – and here’s the most important part: these bacteria multiply much faster than do most other kinds of bacteria. That means that if you cook meats (one of the higher‐risk foods for this “bug”) or other foods, then leave them at room temperature, this bacterium can multiply to levels that can make you sick a lot faster than other bacteria can. Refrigerating food within a couple of hours of cooking, or sooner, slows down the bacteria and greatly lowers your chance of illness.“

Does this bacteria make pets sick?

Yes. From the paper “Clostridium perfringensas Foodborne Pathogen in Broiler Production: Pathophysiology and Potential Strategies for Controlling Necrotic Enteritis“, the C. perfringens bacteria can cause diarrhea, enteritis, and enterotoxemia in animals including dogs and cats.

From the website TheSprucePets: “Enteritis is a term that means inflammation of the small intestine. It often occurs concurrently with gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach. Together, these conditions are called gastroenteritis. Diarrhea is usually the first sign of enteritis in dogs. Additional gastrointestinal signs may also occur, such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and poor appetite.”

The exact same symptoms are suffered by cats. From VCA Hospitals regarding enteritis in cats: “The condition often causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and/or other clinical signs.”

Could this bacteria be in pet foods?

Yes. Remember this bacteria is not destroyed with cooking like other pathogenic bacteria (such as Salmonella). The FDA Bad Bug Book told us C. perfringens produce spores that come back to life when meats (the higher-risk food) are not refrigerated/left at room temperature.

Consider rendered ingredients in pet foods. Meat meals such as chicken meal or beef meal. The raw materials are cooked and…left at room temperature. The meat meals are transported in un-refrigerated trucks. The ingredients at the pet food manufacturing facility are not stored under refrigeration.

Though Clostridium perfringens is not researched in pet foods (at least to our knowledge), the bacteria has been studied in poultry feed specifically linked to rendered meat meal ingredients. From the paper “Clostridium perfringens in ingredients of Poultry feed and control of contamination by chemicals treatments“: “Animal meal (meat meal) is often manufactured with slaughterhouse waste products, such as non-edible offal, feathers, blood and fat, which contributes to reducing the costs of the production of the feed, as well as being an environmentally friendly way to recycle nutrients. However, animal meal is a favorable environment for the growth of microorganisms, especially Clostridium perfringens, throughout the manufacturing process and in storage.“

The same paper also states: “In poultry, C. perfringens is the pathogen responsible for the disease known as necrotic enteritis that causes economic losses, these losses can reach to 33% of chicken production in a broiler farm, due to decreased nutrient absorption that leads to lower weight gain and feed conversion. The safety of these ingredients could be improved by subjecting them to high temperatures to destroy the contaminating pathogens, but C. perfringens is frequently found in its spore form that is resistant to the usual thermal treatments.”

So…why has FDA never tested pet foods for C. perfringens or warned pet food consumers about this common bacteria?

We don’t know. The concerning part is the FDA (the main agency) definitely considers this bacteria a ‘bad bug’ – a serious health risk. But the division of FDA that regulates pet food – the Center for Veterinary Medicine – blatantly ignores the risk in pet food. One Agency with two VERY different perspectives.

Think about how many pets experience diarrhea and vomiting for unknown reasons. Could those many illnesses be caused by Clostridium perfringens bacteria in pet food? “Absolutely!” states my veterinarian in a brief conversation. In a flyer from Lake Shore Pet Hospital, it is “Suspected that up to 34% of diarrhea cases in dogs are Clostridium perfringens–related“. Imagine the costs to pet owners all across the US each year for treatment to their pet’s illnesses directly linked to a bacteria FDA CVM ignores in pet food.

And, by FDA CVM ignoring the risk of Clostridium perfringens in pet food – human illnesses of the bacteria are never traced back to pet food as with other pathogenic bacteria.

So again, why is this bacteria ignored in pet food? The ONLY reason we can think of for FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine to ignore the risks of Clostridium perfringens bacteria in pet food is to protect the industry. By FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine ignoring the risks of this particular bacteria in pet foods, ingredient suppliers and pet food manufacturers are allowed to cut costs by transporting and warehousing ingredients without refrigeration.

This is another example of FDA CVM’s selective enforcement. They not only pick and choose which laws they will enforce in pet food, now we know they also pick and choose which pathogenic bacteria they will test for and alert the public to. Shameful.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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