Pet Food Safety: A Practical Guide for Every Format

Pet food safety applies to everything you put in your dog’s or cat’s bowl, whether you feed kibble, canned food, freeze-dried food, frozen raw food, or a mix of several types. Each type is made and handled differently, so there’s more to consider than the name on the package.

Start with the basics: Is the food nutritionally complete for its intended use? Where do the ingredients come from? How is it made, stored, and served?

Key Takeaways

● Pet food safety applies to kibble, canned food, freeze-dried food, dehydrated food, frozen raw food, treats, and chews.

● Pet food safety covers four main areas: germs, nutrition, physical hazards, and chemical contaminants.

● Every type of pet food has its own production and handling requirements.

● Commercial raw food is made to be fed raw, so safety starts with how it’s sourced and made and continues through storage and handling at home.

● A recall doesn’t automatically tell you whether a brand is safe or unsafe. The cause, response, communication, and whether the same issue keeps happening will give you more context.

What “Safe Pet Food” Actually Means

Bacteria are only one part of pet food safety. Nutrition, foreign material, and chemical contaminants are part of the picture too.

Food-safety concerns generally fall into four categories:

● Microbiological hazards: Harmful germs such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and certain strains of E. coli.

● Nutritional hazards: Too much, too little, or the wrong balance of nutrients for a pet’s species or life stage.

● Physical hazards: Foreign objects, damaged packaging, or other materials that could create an injury or choking risk.

● Chemical hazards: Toxins, residues, spoilage compounds, or contaminants such as aflatoxins.

No single test or processing step tells you everything about a food. A complete and balanced recipe still needs proper manufacturing and storage, just as a food that passes pathogen testing still needs to meet your pet’s nutritional needs.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regulates pet food under federal food law. Most pet foods do not go through FDA approval before sale, but manufacturers still have to meet federal requirements for safe production, sanitary conditions, labeling, and ingredient use.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials plays a different part. Its pet food information includes nutrition standards, ingredient definitions, feeding-test guidelines, and model label rules used throughout the pet food industry.

AAFCO does not regulate, test, approve, certify, or endorse individual pet foods.

How Safety Differs by Pet Food Type

Kibble, canned food, freeze-dried food, and raw diets come with different safety considerations. Knowing those differences can help you choose what fits your pet and household.

Kibble and Canned Food

Dry kibble commonly goes through extrusion, a cooking process that uses heat and pressure. Canned pet food also uses heat during production. Both processes help control pathogens before the food is packaged.

Ingredient quality, packaging, storage, and handling still affect the food after that point.

Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Food

Freeze-drying and dehydration remove moisture, which helps the food stay shelf-stable while sealed. They aren’t the same as cooking, so manufacturers use other food-safety steps during production as well. The CDC’s pet food safety guidance explains how these methods differ from heat processing.

For frozen or freeze-dried raw food, follow the package directions and our guide to properly storing raw pet food.

Raw Food, Including Freeze-Dried and Frozen Raw

Commercial raw food is made to be served without high-temperature cooking. Pet parents often choose it because it keeps animal ingredients in a raw state and offers another way to feed a protein-forward diet.

Because the food stays raw, manufacturers put more focus on sourcing, sanitation, pathogen controls, and testing. At home, the FDA’s information on raw pet food covers practical steps such as handwashing, cleaning bowls and surfaces, storage, and keeping pet food separate from human food.

When comparing raw foods, look at the recipe, ingredients, where the food is made, how the company approaches safety, and whether it gives you clear storage and feeding directions.

Treats and Chews

Treats and chews can also face contamination and recalls, even though they’re not the main meal. Because treats and supplemental foods complement rather than replace a complete diet, check their packaging, lot codes, storage instructions, and manufacturer notices too.

Commercial Food vs. Homemade Diets

Commercial pet food manufacturers also have to follow federal food-safety rules. The FDA’s Preventive Controls for Animal Food rule covers manufacturing practices, food-safety planning, and steps companies take to prevent problems during production.

Pet food facilities may also need to register with the FDA and can be inspected by the agency. Registration itself does not mean the FDA approved the company or its products.

Homemade diets do not have the same lot traceability or formal recall system as commercially produced food. They also require more nutritional planning. Complete commercial diets can be professionally formulated for a specific species and life stage, while small changes to a homemade recipe can alter its nutrient profile. Cats have especially specific nutritional needs, leaving less room for guesswork.

For commercially prepared foods, check the nutritional adequacy statement on the label. This tells you whether the food is meant to provide complete nutrition and which species and life stage it’s intended for.

AAFCO explains that “complete” means the food contains the required nutrients, while “balanced” means those nutrients appear in the appropriate ratios. The statement should also identify the species and life stage the food supports.

How to Handle Raw Pet Food at Home

Raw feeding is easier to manage when you follow the same basic routine each time. Store the food as directed, wash your hands and feeding equipment, and keep pet food separate from food you prepare for yourself.

If your pet or someone in your household has specific health needs, ask your veterinarian or healthcare provider whether you should take any extra precautions.

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s policy on raw or undercooked animal-source protein discusses food-safety practices for raw feeding, while its pet food handling guidance covers everyday handling at home.

Testing is only one part of food safety. Manufacturers also rely on supplier standards, sanitation, temperature control, and traceability. The FDA’s safe handling guidance for pet food and treats covers handwashing, cleaning bowls and utensils, storage, and other basic habits at home.

How Vital Essentials Handles Food Safety

The Vital Essentials Promise explains how we handle food safety from sourcing through production.

We source animal proteins exclusively from USDA-inspected suppliers certified by GFSI and keep ingredients temperature-controlled through production and finished storage. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service explains how its inspection system works.

Inside our facilities, we follow documented sanitation and food-safety practices, perform quality checks, and maintain third-party food-safety certifications. E-Beam technology is the final step in our product safety process, reducing harmful pathogens without cooking the food.

You can review our ingredients to see what goes into our recipes and why we use those ingredients.

You can also browse our dog food and cat food to compare frozen, freeze-dried, complete meal, mixer, and treat options.

Pet Food Safety Checklist: How to Vet Any Brand

You can learn a lot from the safety information a manufacturer makes public. Use these questions when comparing brands:

Does the company explain where its ingredients come from?
Look for specific sourcing details and information about supplier oversight or inspection.
Does the company explain how it manages food safety?
Useful public information may cover sanitation, preventive controls, testing, temperature management, traceability, or other steps that fit the type of food it makes.
Does the label match how you plan to feed the product?
If the food will serve as your pet’s main diet, look for a complete-and-balanced nutritional adequacy statement for the correct species and life stage. Treats and supplemental products serve a different role.
Can you identify the exact product you bought?
Check that the packaging is intact and look for a visible lot code and best-by or expiration date. Lot codes help connect a package to its production history and any recall information.
Can you find useful safety and contact information?
A company should explain its safety practices in plain language and make it easy to contact customer service if you have a product concern.
Does the food fit the way you feed at home?
Think about freezer or refrigerator space, storage, cleanup, and any health needs in your household.

You can sort those answers into a simple traffic-light system:

● Green: You can easily find clear information about ingredients, nutrition, manufacturing, traceability, and handling.

● Yellow: Some information is available, but you still have questions that the company doesn’t answer clearly.

● Red: Basic details such as lot information, sourcing, manufacturing practices, or customer contact information are hard to find.

What to Do During a Pet Food Recall

Recalls can affect any type of pet food. If you see a notice, first check whether the food in your home is actually included.

Check the label. Match the brand, recipe, package size, lot code, and best-by date with the recall notice.
Follow the instructions in the notice. You may need to stop feeding the food, throw it away, or return it.
Save the package information. Keep the package or take a photo of the lot code and other details in case you need them later.
Call your veterinarian if you’re concerned about your pet.

One recall doesn’t tell you everything about a brand. Look at what caused it and how the company responded.

Choose Pet Food Based on the Safety System Behind It

Pet food safety isn’t decided by one word on the package. Kibble, canned food, freeze-dried food, and frozen raw food are all made differently, and each comes with its own storage and serving needs.

Choose food that meets your pet’s nutritional needs, comes from a company that explains how it’s made, and fits the way you feed at home.

If raw interests you, commercial frozen and freeze-dried foods give you ways to feed uncooked animal ingredients without having to build the diet yourself.

You can create your pet’s custom raw plan with our Nutrition Calculator to see how raw feeding could be a good fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is kibble safer than raw pet food?

Kibble and raw food are made differently, so their safety practices are different too. Kibble typically uses heat during production. Commercial raw food relies on sourcing, sanitation, pathogen controls, testing, proper storage, and clean handling without high-temperature cooking. How the food is made tells you more than whether it’s labeled kibble or raw.

Can dry kibble carry aflatoxins?

Yes. Aflatoxins are toxins produced by certain molds that can grow on ingredients such as corn and other grains used in some dry pet foods. Aflatoxin contamination falls under chemical hazards instead of bacterial contamination. Manufacturers can monitor this risk through ingredient controls and testing as part of a broader safety program.

Does freezing kill Salmonella in raw pet food?

No. Freezing helps preserve raw food, but manufacturers use other food-safety steps too, including sourcing standards, sanitation, pathogen controls, and testing. Proper storage and handling continue once the food reaches your home.

Does a pet food recall mean the brand is unsafe?

Not necessarily. Recalls can happen for many reasons. Look at what caused the recall and how the company responded before deciding what it says about the brand.