By Krystal L. Beers, C.S.A.N.
In 2011, the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law, in the process, targeting raw pet food manufacturers. The new guidelines mainly involved putting their raw products under a High Pressure Process (HPP), although manufacturers have not been required to do so.
The FDA’s zero-tolerance policy in the FSMA is meant to eliminate pathogens (like salmonella and listeria) in the final product that could be harmful to pets or their human caretakers handling it. But is this really necessary for raw pet foods, what exactly is HPP, and are there any drawbacks to the process?
Raw Food Safety Concerns
Using HPP on commercially produced raw pet diets leads one to wonder if there has been a problem with contamination. Are pets and people getting sick from these diets? The short answer to both questions is No. Most non-HPP raw pet foods are made using USDA-inspected meats (unlike most processed kibble.) Manufacturers also batch test for contaminants. Raw pet foods are also grain-free, thus free of mycotoxins.
According to the CDC, over the past 30 years, there have been only two cases of salmonellosis in humans directly linked to pet food. Both of those were from kibble. There have been no salmonella cases from commercial raw pet food. Compare that to the number of people who have become ill (or died) due to contaminated pre-packaged food meant for humans!
One of the concerns about raw feeding pets, in general, is that humans could get sick handling raw meat. This can happen even when preparing meat for their family’s supper, too! Basic sanitary practices are all that’s needed to avoid this possibility.
The USDA surmises that children, the elderly, or pregnant women are at greater risk, as well as those with compromised immune systems. Of course, it is possible. Speaking as one in the latter category, we have been raw feeding our dogs and litters for 14 years and I have never become even mildly ill from daily handling of raw meat.
The fact is, processed kibble diets, not raw, are the ones recalled every year due to various contaminants, bacterial and otherwise, leading to illness or death of pets.
What is HPP?
High Pressure Processing is a technique used in the food industry to eliminate certain bacteria in ready-to-eat human foods as well as to increase their shelf life. This is achieved with extremely high pressure on the already packaged product. HPP was first used to treat pre-made avocado products but is now used with meat, seafood, juice, produce, and raw pet foods. HPP is USDA-approved as a 100% “natural” process, even allowed on organic products for humans. Consider also that HPP is a patentable technology with marketing claims that could increase sales.
The Department of Food Science & Technology at Virginia Tech says HPP is a “non-thermal preservation and pasteurization technique, foods retain their original qualities and healthy attributes, HPP uses hydrostatic pressure (pressure exerted uniformly by a liquid through a water bath that surrounds the product) between 100 and 1,000 MPa (Megapascal) applied to food products for three minutes.”
How much pressure is that? Well, if 1 Megapascal equals 145.038 pound-force per square inch (psi), then 100 to 1,000 MPa would equal 1,405.8 to 145,038 psi. That doesn’t sound very “natural” to me.
The Drawbacks
Even though technically speaking HPP does not use heat to sterilize food, my mechanic husband taught me that when pressure is applied to hydrostatic liquid it does generate heat; the higher the pressure, the higher the heat. Look at the above numbers again. That is excessive pressure!
Research has demonstrated that high pressure itself does denature protein. Dr. George Flick, Jr., Ph.D. an authority on HPP at Virginia Tech, states: “Basically, the effect of high pressure on microorganisms and proteins/enzymes was observed to be similar to that of thermal processing.” (Thought and Substantial Lab Research Required: High hydrostatic pressure processing has potential in the meat industry. - ISSN 0179-2415, No 3, 2009)
HPP can’t differentiate between the good and the bad so it destroys most natural vitamins and enzymes in food.
And then there is lipid oxidization. Lipids are fats. Meat contains fat. Several research studies show that HPP treated samples oxidized more rapidly. What does this mean for your dog? The fat becomes rancid which the body recognizes as a potential toxin.
The controversy over whether foods treated with HPP are “raw” or not could lay in the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) definition of raw as being “food in its natural or food state, not having been subjected to heat in the course of preparation of food.” No mention of high pressure.
HPP is not foolproof. Some bacteria are resistant to the process. Cross-contamination can occur afterward. Some information suggests that once opened, sterile HPP foods might even be more susceptible to introduced bacteria.
There may even be a risk of pets ingesting plastic residues (phthalates) from the packaging they are processed in. We know this happens during heating and freezing, so it seems logical that it could under extreme pressure as well.
Effects of HPP on Dogs
Some of you readers may know that my husband and I are Natural Rearing dog breeders. I recently conducted a scientific study showing the effects of HPP on puppies. In the fall of 2020, another breeder and I were raising litters simultaneously. Here are the particulars:
· The puppies were of the same age and breed.
· Both litters consisted of three puppies each.
· The parents of each litter were also raw fed.
· Both litters were fed commercially produced ground raw diets that included bone and organs.
· Diet A was treated with HPP and contained added (synthetic) vitamins and some vegetables.
· Diet B was not treated with HPP nor did it contain added vitamins or vegetables.
The result was that the litter of puppies fed Diet B ate 55% less on a daily basis than the litter that ate Diet A. Yet, the puppies on Diet B weighed from 8 ounces to 1 ½ pounds more than the puppies on Diet A. Clearly, the benefit of a non-HPP treated raw diet is that the whole food nutrition is more bioavailable.
So while most “experts” believe the claims that there is no change to HPP foods, the outcome I witnessed offers significant insight that should not be ignored.
The Healthy Approach
Dogs and cats were intelligently designed to eat raw meat. Their digestive systems include natural defenses to process bacteria without getting ill.
The foundation of health is nutrition from biologically active whole foods. You can accomplish this through a well-researched homemade diet. Or a commercially prepared raw diet in which case, make sure to do your research and find a manufacturer that does not use HPP.
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Note: Before switching your pet to a raw diet, especially if it’s not in good health or is a senior animal, please set up a consultation with me or a another qualified natural pet health care consultant.
Copyright © 2021 Radiant Animal Wellness, Krystal L. Beers. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Author/Publisher.
PHOTO ATTRIBUTION: Krystal L. Beers. Copyright 2013.
About the Author: Krystal L. Beers, C.S.A.N. is a board Certified Small Animal Naturopath consulting on animal nutrition and wellness. With years of experience in animal wellness, Krystal is a blogger, writer, and presenter on natural pet care as well as the published author of three books on animal care, including Rabbit Care… Naturally, Give Your Dog a Species Appropriate Raw Food Diet, and The Eight Laws of Health in Animal Naturopathy. Krystal’s articles have been featured in various publications in both print and online. Krystal is passionate about using and sharing Young Living Essential Oils. Visit her Website: https://twohunnyz.wixsite.com/rawnaturopathy
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