Raw feeding: the best-documented risk is not salmonella, it is antibiotic resistance
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Whenever raw feeding risks come up, the word that follows is "salmonella". Recent data shift the problem elsewhere: the best-documented risk is not a one-off food poisoning, it is the dog itself carrying antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Two studies show it, one on the food side, one on the animal side. Our comparisons sit in the dog food section.
Contents · 5 sections
In the bowl: few salmonellas, plenty of resistance
Nüesch-Inderbinen, Treier, Zurfluh and Stephan analysed in 2019, in Royal Society Open Science, 51 commercial raw meat-based diets sold in Switzerland (see the study). Salmonella turned up in only 3.9% of batches, 2 out of 51. By contrast, 72.5% exceeded the European hygiene criterion of 5 × 10³ cfu/g of Enterobacteriaceae, 62.7% contained resistant bacteria and 60.8% (31 of 51) extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers, or ESBL. Some 74% of isolates were multidrug-resistant, and 3.9% carried the mcr-1 gene, which confers resistance to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic.
In the dog: 24.4% against 1.7%
The open question was whether those bacteria settle in the animal. Morgan, Pinchbeck, Haldenby, Schmidt and Williams compared in 2024, in Frontiers in Microbiology, 432 UK dogs: 193 raw-fed, 239 not (see the study). Carriage of ESBL-producing E. coli concerned 24.4% of raw-fed dogs (47 of 193) against 1.7% of the others (4 of 239). Resistance to third-generation cephalosporins followed the same pattern: 32.6% against 5.0%. In the multivariable model, raw feeding came out with an odds ratio of 24.3 (95% CI 7.09-83.55) for ESBL carriage and 10.8 (4.93-23.75) for third-generation cephalosporin resistance. Two other factors stood out: an antibiotic course in the previous three months (odds ratio 5.03 to 6.32) and, as a protective factor instead, commercial cooked treats (0.34 to 0.50).
What these studies do not show
The caveat matters. The 2024 study is cross-sectional: it establishes an association, not causation. It does not show that these bacteria pass to the owner, nor that they cause human infections. One sample per dog, so nothing about how long carriage lasts; online recruitment, so a likely selection bias. As for the 2019 Swiss work, it sampled no dogs at all: it describes foods, not animals, with a single sample per batch. And one myth to clear up along the way: freezing does not sterilise. It reduces some parasites, not bacteria.
What this changes in practice
- Treat the bowl like raw chicken: hot-water wash after every meal, worktop and utensils cleaned straight after, hands washed last.
- Be extra careful if an infant, an elderly person or an immunocompromised person lives in the household.
- Stay watchful if the dog is just off an antibiotic course, a factor that also stood out in the UK model.
- Do not count on the freezer as a bacteriological sanitising step.
The general benefit-risk balance of raw feeding is covered in our guide to the BARF raw diet; if raw appeals to you mainly for the home-made angle, our comparison of kibble or a home-cooked diet covers the cooked option, which does not raise the same issue.
Frequently asked questions
Does raw feeding make my dog a carrier of resistant bacteria?
It is strongly associated with it: 24.4% ESBL carriage in raw-fed dogs against 1.7% in the others in the 2024 study. That is an association measured at one point in time, not a demonstration of causation.
Does freezing the meat remove the risk?
No. Freezing reduces some parasites, but it does not destroy Enterobacteriaceae, resistant or otherwise.
Does that mean raw feeding should be stopped?
These studies do not say so: they call for strict bowl hygiene and heightened caution if a vulnerable person lives in the household. Find all our guides on the dog hub.
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This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Dogs universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.