How Pet Food May Be Making Your Child Sick

Posted on 9th Aug 2010 @ 11:21 AM

Good Morning America just featured this story about how children should be kept away from dog food. It is worth reading if you have small children that often play with your dog.

Research Suggests Many Salmonella Outbreaks in Children From Dry Pet Food

By LARA SALAHI, ABC News Medical Unit

Many of us consider our pet cats and dogs so much a part of the family that we share everything from couch space to kitchen space. It seems the spaces we share may harbor bacteria hazardous to our health.

Vanderbilt University's Dr. William Schaffner says pet owners should be wary.

A new study published Monday in Pediatrics suggests that some young children of pet owners may get salmonella poisoning just by touching surfaces that come into contact with dry cat and dog food.

Researchers analyzed a national database of foodborne illness cases from 2006 to 2008 and found that some salmonella outbreaks in some children originated from pets fed dry foods in the kitchen.

"It looks as though the children were around the food bowl, handled it, played with it, maybe played with the water in the water bowl and it was that kind of association that led to the transmission of salmonella," said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University. "It would appear that the little children didn't eat the pet food, but I would question what parent would admit to that in a questionnaire."

Thanks Jena for pointing this story out. You can read the rest of the article here [ABC News]

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