The UK Food Standards Agency recently tested 380 raw dog and cat food products sold across the UK.
Around one in three contained harmful bacteria. Around 29% failed basic UK microbiological safety standards.
The products were collected from retail stores and online platforms between March 2023 and February 2024, covering 50 brands. Testing was carried out by the UK Health Security Agency at UKAS-accredited laboratories. The full results were published in early 2026.
Here's what the findings mean, and what you can do about them.
Key Findings from the FSA Raw Pet Food Study
The headline numbers:
- 29% of products failed UK microbiological safety standards
- Salmonella detected in 20.8% of samples
- Campylobacter detected at similar rates
- Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria identified in multiple samples
- 50 brands tested across the UK market, including retail and online suppliers
Contamination beyond the food itself
The FSA also found bacteria on the outer packaging of some products, raising concerns about cross-contamination during storage and handling in the home.
What This Actually Means
These findings need context.
Bacteria exist in all raw meat, whether it's destined for human dinner tables or dog bowls. The presence of bacteria in raw pet food is not surprising. The question is whether it's being managed.
For human food, the primary control is cooking. Heat reduces harmful bacteria. Cooked and dry pet food brands use similar heat-based processes, though post-production contamination can still occur, as periodic recalls in the kibble industry have shown.
For raw dog food, cooking isn't an option. The whole point is to preserve the raw nutritional profile. So safety has to come from a different control: sourcing, hygiene management, and testing.
The FSA study tells us that across the UK raw pet food market, these controls are not consistently working. A third of products failing safety standards is a structural problem, not a marginal one.
Why This Happens
The raw pet food industry in the UK is regulated, but the regulatory framework relies heavily on manufacturers to self-monitor.
APHA (the Animal and Plant Health Agency) registers raw pet food producers and can inspect facilities. But day-to-day safety testing is largely the manufacturer's responsibility. UK regulations do not require manufacturers to test every batch, publish results, or hold product until testing is complete.
Most raw pet food brands test periodically. They might test representative samples from production runs, or test at set intervals. This is standard practice and it meets regulatory requirements.
The gap is between test points. A batch tested last week says nothing about a batch made this week.
That is the standard operating model, and it is what the FSA survey sampled across.
What You Can Do About It
If you feed raw, or you're considering it, the FSA findings shouldn't scare you off. But they should make you ask better questions.
Three things to look for when evaluating any raw dog food brand:
Do they test every batch?
Periodic testing tells a brand whether its process is working over time, which is a real thing to know. Per-batch testing answers a different question: whether this batch passed. Ask the brand directly: is every batch tested before it ships, or do you test representative samples?
Who does the testing?
Internal testing is better than no testing. Independent testing at a UKAS-accredited laboratory is better still. UKAS accreditation means the lab's methods, equipment, and personnel have been assessed for competence and consistency by the recognised UK authority. It's the same standard the FSA used for their own study.
Can you see the results?
Testing that happens behind closed doors requires trust. Published results require nothing but your willingness to look. If a brand tests every batch, ask whether you can see the certificate for the specific batch in your freezer. If the answer is no, ask why.
The Bigger Picture
The FSA study is evidence that the raw pet food market has a verification gap. Most of the industry operates on trust rather than proof.
Testing protocols vary widely, from basic periodic sampling to comprehensive per-batch verification with published results. The market is not uniform, and the FSA figures represent an average across very different approaches to safety.
You don't need to accept the market average. You can choose based on evidence.
How Protocol Raw Approaches This
Contamination is a handling problem before it is a testing problem. The highest-risk ingredients stay physically separated until a laboratory has cleared that specific delivery, and a supplier's assurance does not count as clearance.
The food is kept cold at every stage, because that is what stops bacteria multiplying in the first place. Then every batch is tested at a UKAS-accredited laboratory, and held apart from shipping stock until the result comes back. Every result is published.
You can also read How to Read Your Batch Safety Report for a step-by-step guide to understanding your results, or see a sample batch report to see what published results look like.
Testing is not what makes food safe. It is what has to confirm that everything before it worked, before anything ships. That is the difference between a result that tells you about a sample and one that tells you about the food in your freezer.
For the full overview of how we approach safety, from sourcing through to published batch results, see our Safety page.
Safe Handling
Regardless of which brand you feed, the FSA emphasised that raw pet food should always be handled with the same hygiene precautions as raw meat for human consumption. Wash hands after handling. Clean surfaces and bowls. Store separately from human food. Defrost in a sealed container in the fridge. These are sensible precautions for any raw product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the FSA say raw dog food is unsafe?
No. The study did not recommend avoiding raw food. It identified microbiological contamination in a portion of products and emphasised safe handling practices. The FSA's position is that raw pet food can carry risks that should be managed through good hygiene and responsible manufacturing.
Why does raw dog food contain bacteria?
Raw meat naturally contains bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Cooking eliminates these pathogens, which is why cooked pet food largely avoids this concern. Raw diets rely on sourcing controls, hygiene management, and testing to manage the risk instead.
How many raw pet foods failed the FSA study?
Around 29% of the 380 products tested failed UK microbiological safety standards. Salmonella was detected in 20.8% of samples.
How can I check if my raw dog food is safe?
Ask your brand three questions: Do they test every batch? Who does the testing? Can you see the results for your specific batch? The answers will tell you how seriously they take safety verification.
Further Reading
The full FSA study is publicly available: A Survey of Microbiological and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Contamination Found in Raw Dog and Cat Food on Retail Sale in the UK (February 2026, FSA Research and Evidence).
The FSA's consumer guidance on safe handling of raw pet food is also worth reading, regardless of which brand you feed.