Pet food recalls for bacterial contamination are pretty common. And occasionally, there is an outbreak linked to those types of products. Many people wonder, how do people get sick from contaminated pet food?
On social media, there are often comments made about people feeding children dog food, or eating it themselves. That is not how these outbreaks happen.
Any type of pet food can be contaminated with pathogens. There have been recalls linked to raw frozen pet food, to canned pet food, and to dry kibble. Just like human food, pet food can be contaminated with pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
When pets eat contaminated food, several things can happen. The animal may not get sick at all. Or they may become carriers of the pathogen without showing any symptoms. Or the animal may get sick, with symptoms ranging from lethargy to a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.
