Our response to Dutch Raw Research
Understandably we have had a number of calls questioning the various articles in the national newspapers over the weekend, regarding the recent study produced at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Before I go any further I would like to point out that this research was undertaken in a country with different legislation for raw dog food, and performed on a tiny sample. No numbers were given to say how many animals, if any, were reported as ill as a result.
Most interestingly 51% of dog owners in the Netherlands feed a commercial raw food. Would the country’s dog owners have embraced a way of feeding with blind ignorance to the potential “dangers”?
So how does this affect us in the UK, and most particularly our customers’ confidence in our product?
Happily, most people who feed raw are avid researchers into pet nutrition and we are fortunate to have an intelligent customer base who already know the benefits of feeding a natural diet. We also have a number of excellent nutritionists on staff to help and advise when needed.
It was interesting to see that the “researchers” did not test any other types of food. Over the years there have been a large number of recalls of other types of dog food such as wet, dry and commercial treats for contaminated batches and positive salmonella readings.
In the UK we raw food companies,
by law, have to perform stringent bacterial and salmonella testing. Importantly there is a ZERO tolerance rule for any positive results.
In fact, at Nutriment, we store our products until clear test results are received back and then it is released for sale.
Our adherence to DEFRA (Animal Health) and Trading Standards laws
requires regular monitoring and inspection of our premises, ingredients and processes to ensure we are fulfilling these requirements.
We are members of the PFMA and adhere to their regulations and guideline in order to retain that status.
In addition to the enforced regulations we happily abide by, Nutriment food is made inside a fridge and immediately
blast frozen to -28c which also helps prevent bacteria from multiplying. We also swab test the meat on arrival and our machinery after cleaning, to ensure we don’t have any unwanted results.
I could go on about the fact that dogs have eaten raw meat since forever but we all know that anyway. I could point out that we, as do most dog food companies, suggest good hygiene on our packs but we know that too.
We have no reason to fear raw food and neither should you. Raw feeding is not a fad or a fashion. It has been around the longest and the reason for the resurgence of it in the last ten years, I believe, is a rebellion against the shockingly poor ingredients in so many commercial kibbles and wet foods. It is also the result that healthy dogs get noticed and that in itself passes on the message.
It is the healthiest and most natural way of feeding our beloved pets and their health and vitality as Nutriment dogs are testaments to this. And whilst we are made to think we should be ensuring our dogs have a sterile environment to prevent bacteria this would do more harm than good.
I will quote the comment from my last blog on this message as it continues to be true of all of our beloved pets:
Today one of my dogs rolled in fox poo. The other ate a worm. One often licks the bum of the other. Both ate Nutriment Duck. And both have kissed me and at least one stranger today. I will let you know how our health fares after this!
