While you love your dog or cat, you may not realize that your animal’s food may actually be causing health risks for your child. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that salmonella bacteria in dried dog and cat food sparked an outbreak of salmonella infections between 2006 and 2008.
The CDC investigators, in their report in Pediatrics, explained that the connection did not come from children actually eating the pet food. More likely, it came from bugs that spread by direct contact with the pets. Infection, they found, was certainly more likely if pet bowls were kept in the kitchen.
Certainly, pet owners should wash their hands after feeding pets or handling pet food. Move pet food out of the kitchen or clean your floors frequently. Wash your hands after playing with your animal and avoid flea and tick-control products that have organophosphate pesticides in them.