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Raw Pet Food Risks - Dr. Janak Dhakal

Channel: The Pet Food Science Podcast • by Wisenetix Published: 2026-05-07 06:00
The Pet Food Science Podcast • by Wisenetix

Dr. Janak Dhakal argues that raw pet food is the highest-risk segment in pet food safety because it is not heat-treated, can carry Salmonella, and can expose pets and then humans through handling and household cross-contamination. He says the risk is especially acute for kids, infants, and other vulnerable people, and notes that FDA does not recommend feeding raw pet food.

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Detailed summary

This episode is a focused discussion of pet food safety, centered on Dr. Janak Dhakal’s work on Salmonella control in raw pet food. His core thesis is straightforward: raw pet food poses a materially higher microbiological risk than cooked or treated pet food because it often lacks a kill step, can contain animal-derived ingredients that are common Salmonella reservoirs, and is handled in ways that increase the chance of human exposure. He repeatedly frames Salmonella as the main pathogen of concern and treats raw diets as the highest-risk category in the current landscape. Dhakal grounds that view in both biology and outbreak data. He explains that Salmonella is ubiquitous in the environment and common in poultry, which is a major ingredient source for pet foods. …

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Main takeaways

  1. Raw pet food is the main Salmonella risk segment discussed, largely because it lacks a kill step.
  2. Household transmission matters as much as factory contamination because pets can spread pathogens to people.
  3. Children, infants, and elderly handlers are highlighted as especially vulnerable.
  4. Recall data cited by the guest suggests raw diets account for a rising share of Salmonella-linked recalls.
  5. Mitigation tools exist, but sensory acceptance and consumer perception remain major constraints.
  6. The guest’s research is positioned as a safety-first response to a structurally risky product category.

Market read by horizon

Short term

Immediate setup: raw pet food remains the highest-risk pet-food format for Salmonella exposure, so any new recall or outbreak would quickly reinforce the cautionary view. In the near term, the actionable lens is sanitation and kill-step adoption rather than nutrition marketing.

  • Near term, raw pet food remains the clearest contamination concern because the product category has no built-in heat kill step.
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  • The immediate watch item is Salmonella-related recalls and outbreaks, especially any involving infants or hospitalized cases.
  • Commercial solutions the guest flagged are HPP, bacteriophages, and acidulants, but adoption will hinge on taste and customer perception.
Mid term

Over the next few months, the base case is continued pressure on raw pet food to prove it can control pathogens without losing sensory appeal. If HPP, phages, or similar tools scale, the category may improve; if not, the safety discount on raw diets likely persists.

  • Over the next several weeks or months, the key question is whether industry can reduce Salmonella without making raw diets less palatable.
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  • If HPP and phage-based approaches gain traction, the narrative may shift from ‘raw is unsafe’ to ‘raw can be controlled if processed correctly.’
  • A sustained rise in recalls or outbreaks would reinforce the guest’s view that raw diets are the most fragile segment of pet food safety.
Long term

Structurally, the transcript points to a lasting shift toward safety-engineered pet foods, especially where human-pet contact is close. Raw diets will likely remain controversial unless the industry can make microbial control invisible to consumers and pets alike.

  • Structurally, the transcript argues that pet food safety is converging toward human-food-style microbiological rigor, especially for products consumed through close human-pet contact.
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  • The durable thesis is that raw feeding creates a persistent safety externality: even when pets are less affected, humans in the home can be exposed.
  • Longer term, the category’s survival depends on whether the industry can engineer pathogen control that preserves the sensory and philosophical appeal of raw diets.
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Key claims (8)

6:10
BEARISH pet food safety Salmonella

Salmonella is the primary pathogen of concern in pet food safety.

He explicitly names Salmonella as the most concerning pathogen in pet food.

12:30
BEARISH pet food safety raw pet food

Raw pet food is especially risky because it lacks heat treatment and can therefore retain pathogens.

He defines raw food as food that does not go through cooking or treatment and says there is no intervention step to mitigate pathogens.

12:35
BEARISH recalls raw pet food

Raw pet food recalls have become a larger share of Salmonella-linked pet food recalls in recent years.

He contrasts the 1999 onward data with the 2015-2024 slice, saying raw pet food accounts for more than half of recalls in the recent period.

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Assets discussed (8)

Salmonella
BEARISH other

Primary pathogen of concern in pet food; linked to recalls, outbreaks, and household transmission.

USDA
NEUTRAL other

Cited as funder of a pet food safety project and as a gatekeeper for research priorities.

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Speakers

HOST Dr. Juliet Kanyiri GUEST Dr. Janak Dhakal

Interview (9 Q&A)

0:55
guest background

Can you share with us a little bit about your background and how you ended up in your current position today?

Jenek was born and raised in Nepal, received a bachelor's in veterinary science and animal husbandry, worked briefly as a large animal practitioner, earned a master's in India, then a PhD in poultry science from Mississippi State University focusing on salmonella food safety. After a brief industry role and a layoff, he joined Kansas State's pet food lab with Dr. Greg Aldrich, working on controlling salmonella in pet foods. He is now an assistant professor at University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

3:10
current research

Can you share what current research you're working on and what your lab can offer to the industry?

Jenek's lab focuses on food safety and food microbiology with three active projects. One major USDA-funded project (one of the first USDA has ever funded on pet food safety) looks at pet food surveillance of salmonella, antibiotic resistance patterns, and novel antimicrobials including natural antimicrobials, chemicals, acidulants, and bacteriophages against multidrug-resistant salmonella. He also has a project on poultry.

5:50
importance of pet food safety

Why is pet food safety so much talked about nowadays?

Jenek explains that salmonella is the most concerning pathogen in pet food. Pet food contains about 60% animal-derived ingredients (especially poultry which commonly carries salmonella). He describes the transmission risk: pets eat from bowls, get salmonella on their mouths and whiskers, then lick or kiss their owners. Bowls are often not cleaned effectively. The handlers are often vulnerable populations like children or the elderly. He cites 2023 and 2024 outbreaks where most illnesses were in infants under 1 year old.

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Where this transcript pushes against consensus

  • The guest relies heavily on recall and outbreak counts without providing full methodology, so the magnitude of the risk may be somewhat sensitive to how recalls are categorized.
  • The claim that raw pet food is nutritionally not superior is presented as settled, but the transcript does not review detailed comparative feeding studies.
  • The discussion of one death in a raw turkey outbreak is explicitly uncertain about attribution, which weakens the strength of that example.
  • The FDA zero-tolerance framing is asserted correctly in the discussion, but the transcript does not separate regulatory standards from real-world compliance frequency.

Topics

pet food safetySalmonellaraw pet foodrecalls and outbreakscross-contaminationhigh pressure processingbacteriophagesacidulantsconsumer perceptionvulnerable populations

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