Should Pet Food sold to be eaten Raw be produced in an RTE environment?
We have had requests to start producing pet food. We are a poultry slaughter facility; all our finished products are raw, for human consumption. We are thinking of making a pet food supplement, basically just raw ground chicken and maybe beef. I have studied the CFR for pet food, and raw pet food with ingredients has Listeria monocytogenes listed as a known hazard.
Would this be true for a pet food supplement containing only chicken? And should we set up an RTE environment to process this in, since it will be eaten raw by dogs.
Thank you!!
Yes - from what I understand about raw pet food, you would need to set up an RTE environment for this product that is separate from your normal process for raw further cook product. Also from what I've seen in regards to raw pet food data and recalls, salmonella should absolutely be included in your hazards.