Evaluation of microbial contamination and effects of storage in raw meat‐based dog foods purchased online

• Published in: Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition 2020-03, Vol.104 (2), p.690-697
• Main Authors: Morelli, Giada, Catellani, Paolo, Miotti Scapin, Riccardo, Bastianello, Sofia, Conficoni, Daniele, Contiero, Barbara, Ricci, Rebecca
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animals; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacteriology; Coliforms; Contamination; Defrosting; dog; Dogs; E coli; Evaluation; Fecal coliforms; Food; Food contamination; Food Microbiology; Food processing; Food production; Food Storage; Internet; Listeria; Listeria monocytogenes; Meat; Meat - microbiology; Microbial contamination; Microorganisms; nutrition; Quality assessment; raw food; Refrigeration; Salmonella; Storage; Thawing; Websites; zoonotic
• ISSN: 0931-2439; 1439-0396
• DOI: 10.1111/jpn.13263

Feeding raw‐meat‐based diets to companion animals has become a widespread practice, and many owners are now accustomed to buying frozen ingredients online. The goals of this study were to assess the microbiological quality of raw‐meat dog foods obtained from specialized websites and to evaluate the effects of storage at different temperatures for a few days. Twenty‐nine raw dog food products were processed for quantitative bacteriology (i.e. total viable count, TVC; Escherichia coli; faecal coliforms, FC) and sulphite‐reducing clostridia, and analysed for the presence of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica and Clostridium difficile. Every sample was examined right after the delivery (T0), after 24 to 48 hr and after 72 hr, both at 2°C and 7°C. At T0, the mean score for the TVC was 5.9 × 106 cfu/g (SD = 4.8 × 107 cfu/g), while those for E. coli and FC were 1.1 × 104 cfu/g (SD = 2.5 × 105 cfu/g) and 3.3 × 103 cfu/g (SD = 6.5 × 104 cfu/g) respectively. The samples stored at 2°C had a significant increase of all parameters (TVC: p