The occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of salmonellae isolated from commercially available canine raw food diets in three Canadian cities.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella isolated from commercially available canine raw food diets in Canada. A total of 166 commercial frozen raw food diet samples were purchased from randomly selected local pet stores in three Canadian cities for a period of 8 months. All samples were evaluated for the presence of Salmonella, serotyped and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. There was an overall Salmonella prevalence of 21%; chicken was an ingredient for 67% of the Salmonella-positive diets. Eighteen different Salmonella serotypes were recovered, and resistance was observed to 12 of the 16 antimicrobials tested, with the majority of Ontario isolates exhibiting resistance to ampicillin and Calgary isolates to tetracycline. This study demonstrates the potential risk of raw food diets, especially for immunocompromised individuals, and stresses the need for implementing regulatory guidelines for the production of these diets in order to help control and ideally eliminate the bacterial risks associated with their use and consumption.