Pets and food poisoning

The four legged toy chewing fur / feather baby is not only an important part of many Australian homes but is also a potential source of food poisoning bacteria.

We all know that we are supposed to wash our hands after playing with animals or their beds / habitats, and especially after cleaning up after them. The problem seems to be that people forget this and kiss their dogs, cats, rats, guinea pigs, horses and even chickens, or forget to wash their hands after being with them or anything linked to them.

Between mid 2015 and the end of 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nine cases of Salmonella infection in the USA which were directly attributable to the handling and cleaning of guinea pigs and their habitats.

“This outbreak is a reminder that pet rodents such as guinea pigs, regardless of where they are purchased or adopted, can carry Salmonella bacteria even when they look healthy and clean. This result provides more evidence that people in this outbreak got sick from contact with pet guinea pigs,” according to the CDC advisory

The Food Safety Information Council Ltd recently sent out a media release about the link between food poisoning and pets and what methods should be used to prevent it. This information has been put into a Fact Sheet on their website – www.foodsafety.asn.au

Having pets has been found to be of enormous benefit to our health, nut obviously we need to be aware of the food poisoning issues and prevent them.