Is Your Dog or Cat’s Raw Pet Food Really Raw?

With increased desire to feed the most biologically-appropriate diet, many pet parents are selecting raw foods. Feeding a properly-formulated raw diet to a carnivore is giving your pet what is most appropriate for him. Raw meat and poultry, along with proper percentages of bone and organ meat, supply a naturally correct profile of amino acids and most vitamins and minerals. Also, inherent in the raw food are enzymes and bacteria that aid in digestion and play a key role in a healthy immune system.

But a number of raw food companies have begun pasteurizing their raw pet foods. This came in response to recalls after their foods tested positive for salmonella, a bacterium

that can cause disease. However, in the process of killing potential pathogens (disease-causing bacteria), pasteurization can reduce the nutritional value of a raw diet. So is it really raw?

High Pressure Pasteurization of Raw Pet Food

Most “raw” pet food manufacturers use High Pressure Pasteurization (HPP) to prevent pathogens that can make your pets sick. This method incorporates water pressure to sterilize the food. Tests have shown that HPP denatures, or structurally changes, proteins in the raw meat, lowering the nutrients in the food. Raw diets that have been pasteurized with high pressure have lost some of their raw food benefits. One could argue that this pasteurized form of raw food is really no better than sterilized canned food.

Raw Pet Food Safety without Pasteurization

There are other methods of guarding the safety of dogs and cats that eat raw pet food, without using HPP. Nature's Logic's raw frozen diets are still 100% raw, with all the nutrients naturally obtained from raw meat, poultry and produce. We take a number of steps to ensure that is the case, without pasteurizing the food.

First, Nature’s Logic uses meats, poultry, fish, fruits, and vegetables that come from human-edible processing facilities. All our manufacturing plants are registered with the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. They are all AIB Certified and several are EU (European Union) Certified.

In addition, Nature’s Logic tests all of our ingredients and finished foods to ensure there are no harmful bacteria, like salmonella or e. coli. These pathogens have been the cause of most of the pet food recalls that have occurred over the past ten years. We test for potential rancidity, aflatoxins, and vomitoxins, plus Nature’s Logic has also done random testing for fluoride. 

Nature’s Logic’s position is that raw food needs to be raw, or what is the point? Our company has NEVER had a recall on any product, including our raw diets. If regulatory requirements are ever created to require pasteurization of raw products, then Nature's Logic would choose not be in that segment of the pet food market.  A proper raw food, based on high percentages of animal protein and little or no grain, can greatly reduce a number of diseases or the severity of them in our pets. A good raw diet is an excellent choice for any dog or cat. For more information about Nature's Logic raw foods for dogs and cats, please visit http://www.natureslogic.com/.

Do you feed your pet raw food?