Raw Pet Food Safety: What the UK’s 380-Sample Survey Found

A raw pet-food pack can look and smell perfectly ordinary while carrying microorganisms that cannot be seen. Once the pack is opened, the route is not only bowl to pet: it can also run through hands, utensils, worktops, fridge shelves, floors, fur and faeces.

A Food Standards Agency survey published in 2026 tested 380 packaged raw dog and cat foods bought from UK shops and online sellers. Pathogenic—meaning disease-causing—bacteria were detected in 35% of samples, and about 29% exceeded statutory microbiological criteria.

This was not a recall of every raw food, and it does not show that every contaminated pack will make a pet or person ill. It does show that contamination and cross-contamination are credible household risks. The useful response is to understand what was tested, which findings overlap and which practical barriers the FSA recommends.

What the survey actually tested

Researchers collected 277 raw dog-food samples and 103 raw cat-food samples between March 2023 and February 2024. The products represented 50 brands and were bought from shops and online across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland was not one of the retail sampling regions, although products manufactured there may have been among those tested.

All 380 products were sold frozen. Laboratory testing was carried out by the UK Health Security Agency using recognised methods. Researchers looked for Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli—usually shortened to STEC—methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, and several forms of antimicrobial resistance.

The survey is a large market snapshot, not a permanent score for a brand. It sampled particular products and packs during a defined period. It cannot tell an owner that a later pack is contaminated, or clear it as safe, by name or appearance alone.

The headline numbers, with their proper boundaries

These percentages must not be added together. Some samples contained more than one pathogen. “Detected” also does not mean that every organism was present at the same concentration or created the same probability of illness.

Salmonella was present in roughly one in five samples. The researchers found Campylobacter in about one in seven and culture-confirmed STEC in about one in nine. MRSA appeared in just under one in ten.

In 109 samples—28.7% of the total—the statutory criteria were exceeded because Salmonella was detected and/or indicator E. coli counts were above the level used to represent excessive Enterobacteriaceae. That is the basis for the rounded “29%” figure, not a claim that 29% of pets became ill.

What antimicrobial resistance means here

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, means microorganisms can survive medicines that would normally be expected to inhibit or kill them. It can make certain infections harder to treat; detecting a resistant organism does not mean the animal or person handling that particular pack developed an untreatable infection.

The survey detected ESBL- and/or AmpC-producing E. coli in 19.6% of samples. Those labels describe resistance mechanisms affecting penicillins and some other beta-lactam antibiotics. Colistin-resistant E. coli carrying the mcr-1 gene appeared in 1.3%. The researchers did not detect carbapenem-resistant E. coli.

Those distinctions matter. “Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found” is accurate but incomplete; “the food contained superbugs that no medicine can treat” would not be supported by the results.

How exposure can move around a home

Raw pet food does not undergo a cooking step that would normally kill many bacteria. Freezing helps storage but does not make the product sterile. A pet may also carry or shed organisms after eating contaminated food without appearing visibly ill.

The direct routes include touching the food, a leaking pack, its bowl or preparation tools. Indirect routes include a hand touching a cupboard handle, a utensil being reused for human food, liquid dripping onto a fridge shelf, a pet licking people or surfaces after eating, and contact with faeces.

Packaging is part of the control system. Around 8% of survey packs leaked during laboratory thawing. Contamination detected on the outside of packs was uncommon, but leakage makes a sealed container and separate defrosting area practical precautions rather than cosmetic ones.

A safer storage, defrosting and cleaning routine

The FSA’s current raw pet-food guidance recommends:

1. Keep the food frozen until needed and label it clearly.
2. Store it separately from human food. In a fridge, use a sealed container on the lowest shelf so drips cannot fall onto food for people.
3. Defrost it in a sealed, labelled container away from human food, worktops and equipment.
4. Use dedicated utensils and containers for raw pet food. Do not swap them into ordinary food preparation.
5. Wash hands with soap and hot water immediately after preparing raw food or treats.
6. Clean and disinfect every contact surface, utensil and bowl after use.
7. Discard uneaten raw food as soon as reasonably practical rather than leaving it in the bowl.
8. Clean the feeding area and any floor touched by the food once the pet has finished.
9. Handle faeces hygienically and wash hands afterwards, because exposure can continue after the meal.
10. Follow the maker’s storage and use instructions as well as the general precautions.

Do not use smell, colour or a pet’s enthusiasm as a safety test. Harmful bacteria do not have to change the food’s appearance.

Some households face greater consequences

The FSA identifies children—particularly those under five—older people and people with weakened immune systems as being at higher risk from food-poisoning bacteria and other pathogens. Young children should not handle or eat raw pet food or raw treats, and hands should be washed thoroughly if contact occurs.

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association strongly recommends strict hygiene wherever a raw-meat-based diet is fed. It advises seeking medical advice before preparing, handling or storing raw pet food in a household with children or immunocompromised adults.

This is a household decision, not only a pet preference. A person who never fills the bowl can still encounter the pet, floor, fridge or cleaning tools.

Food safety and nutritional completeness are different questions

The survey measured microorganisms and resistance. It did not compare coat condition, digestion, lifespan or other claimed benefits of different diets.

Raw products can be sold as complete or complementary foods. A complete food is intended to supply the nutrients needed for the stated species and life stage when fed as directed. A complementary product is not intended to form the whole diet. Owners should check that distinction on the label rather than assuming that “commercial” or “raw” automatically means nutritionally complete.

Home-prepared raw recipes add another question: whether the nutrient balance is appropriate for the individual animal. Puppies, kittens and pets with medical conditions are especially poor candidates for nutritional guesswork. A vet or appropriately qualified veterinary nutrition professional can assess the animal and the proposed diet.

Strict hygiene can reduce risk; it cannot turn raw animal material into a sterile product. If a household cannot maintain reliable separation—or includes someone for whom infection could have serious consequences—that belongs in the feeding decision.

If a pet or person becomes unwell

Contact a vet about illness in a pet and a healthcare professional about illness in a person. Tell them that raw pet food is handled in the home, even if the animal seems well. Keep the packaging, batch code, purchase details and any recall notice that may apply.

For a named product alert, use the FSA food-alert service rather than assuming that the survey itself recalled a brand. The survey findings describe a market-level risk; recalls identify specific products and actions.

The practical conclusion is neither panic nor complacency. Treat the food as raw meat, build reliable separation into the kitchen and choose the diet with both the animal and every person in the household in mind.

Sources and update record

• FSA/UKHSA: full 380-sample raw dog and cat food survey
• Food Standards Agency: raw pet-food storage and handling guidance
• GOV.UK veterinary notification summarising the survey
• BSAVA position statement on companion-animal nutrition
• APHA/Defra: manufacturing and bacterial-control requirements for raw pet food

Last checked: 23 August 2026, 14:20 BST. Survey sample collection ran from March 2023 to February 2024; the results and associated UK veterinary notice were published in 2026. This article is a practical explainer, not a product recall.