While events that conspired to sweep petfood into the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 were not exclusively pathogen related, the net result has been an almost singular focus on eliminating Salmonella in petfood. Before 2007, the only area in the news that seemed to be affected by Salmonella was poultry products (i.e., chicken and eggs). Now there is a near-constant stream of recalls from Salmonella in petfood and treats. Clearly, Salmonella is the one ingredient no one wants in their pet's food, treat, or chew toy. But can it truly be eliminated?
Annually, Salmonella leads to some 16 million cases of typhoid fever, 1.3 billion cases of gastroenteritis and 3 million deaths worldwide. It is universally dispersed in nature with animals (including humans) serving as the primary reservoir. It is harbored in the gastrointestinal tract and transmitted from one host to the next by fecal shedding along with anything this might come into contact with (such as water supplies). Transmission can be from one animal to the next, including from animal to man and back; the so-called "zoonotic" transmission.
