How Safe Is Pet Food Really? Understanding regulations and risks in the UK Pet Food Industry

Pet owners today are more informed, more conscientious, and more invested in their animals’ wellbeing than ever before, especially when it comes to nutrition. With countless brands, feeding styles, and marketing claims competing for attention, it’s only natural that questions arise – especially around safety.

When I think of safely I think of two things initially:

Safety of the pet

Safety of humans (especially those that come into contact with the pet).

This is because risk can come in many forms – some have very little consequence; some have far reaching and even deadly consequences; especially when we start looking at the likes of pathogenic bacterial contamination. Both human and animal deaths have been reported as a consequence of such contamination, or contact with contaminated food. These include examples such as trichothecene intoxication and aplastic pancytopenia, and pathogenic bacteria outbreaks.

Isn’t pet food regulated?

The short answer is that yes, pet food in the UK is highly regulated, closely monitored, and governed by stringent laws that prioritise both animal and human health. But like any food production system, it isn’t entirely without risk. Understanding how pet food safety works – from legislation to recalls to raw food guidelines – helps owners make confident, informed decisions.

In this article I will aim to break down the key regulations, safety safeguards, oversight bodies, and challenges in the UK pet food system.

Pet Food: Classified and Regulated as ‘Animal Feed’

In the UK, pet food is classified as animal feed, meaning manufacturers, distributors, and importers are all considered Feed Business Operators (FBOs). As FBOs, they must comply with strict legislation designed to:

Protect animal health

Ensure feed safety

Maintain hygiene and traceability

Prevent contamination

Guarantee accurate labeling

This regulatory framework mirrors the standards applied to the human food sector. In fact, pet food is manufactured and distributed using the same processes, equipment, and supply chains as human food. The raw materials often come from the same sources as ingredients destined for supermarkets and restaurants (but usually go to pet food because the meat is not what the UK consumer wants).

This overlap means that some human food laws also apply to pet food – such as those governing:

Veterinary medicine residue limits in meat

Pesticide limits in plant-based ingredients

Microbiological safety

Contaminant control

And because farm animals themselves become part of the human food chain, feed for all animals (including pets) must meet a high legal benchmark. In other words: the safety laws are stringent because they have to be.

But that doesn’t mean mistakes never happen. And when they do, both pets and owners can be affected.

Key Regulations Pet Food Must Meet

To ensure safety across the board, UK pet food must comply with legislation that covers everything from sourcing and manufacturing to packaging and labeling. Some of the essential safety requirements include:

1. Ingredient Declaration

Manufacturers may list ingredients individually or by category (e.g., “meat and animal derivatives,” “oils and fats”). While often misunderstood, this system is designed to:

Keep labels consistent and clear

Reduce unnecessary costs

Accurately represent variable raw materials

Despite myths online, this does not allow unsafe ingredients—everything must meet legal safety standards.

Furthermore, you cannot tell how nutritionally balanced a pet food is by reading a pet food label. Some brands will purposefully manipulate their labels to be ‘appealing’ to the owners, yet it is not a reflection on the nutritional profile of the food. On paper, if a food is labelled complete then it must have been formulated as such, however, unless a company has then gone on to complete feeding trials, there is no way of knowing if the food that looks good ‘on paper’ translates to completeness when feeding it to a wider population.

Take a look at this article for more information on this: Stop reading your pet food ingredient list! Although this might seem like a tangent from ‘safely’ the nutritional profile of foods plays into the health of your pet and thus, also the safety of it when fed over a long period of time.

2. Label Requirements

Pet food labels must clearly state:

Product name

Intended species

Net weight or volume

Ingredient list

Analytical constituents (nutritional breakdown)

Feeding instructions

Nutritional adequacy statement

Manufacturer/distributor contact details

This ensures transparency and allows pet owners to make informed choices.

3. Hygiene and Traceability

Products must be manufactured in approved facilities that follow strict hygiene rules. Requirements include:

Documented traceability from raw material supplier to final consumer

Production in clean, controlled environments

Use of new, safe packaging

Storage and transport conditions that prevent spoilage or contamination

4. Regulatory Oversight

The two primary governing bodies are:

Food Standards Agency (FSA) – responsible for animal feed legislation and safety

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) – oversees hygiene, enforcement, and waste classification

Notably, neither organisation endorses individual pet food brands, recipes, or feeding trends. Their role is safety—not promotion.

Industry Groups That Strengthen Standards

Alongside government regulators, several industry organisations work to maintain high standards.

UK Pet Food

Formerly known as the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA), UK Pet Food represents manufacturers and suppliers, acting as:

A liaison with government

A resource for media

An educational body on pet nutrition

A promoter of responsible industry practices

Members must abide by a detailed Member Charter, which goes beyond basic legal compliance. The Charter includes Codes of Practice, guidelines, and commitments to maintain high safety and nutritional standards.

FEDIAF

The European Pet Food Federation works with UK Pet Food to maintain consistent nutritional guidelines across Europe. Together, they support scientific research, food safety standards, and responsible manufacturing.

Raw Pet Food Guidelines

Because raw pet food carries unique risks (more on this later), UK Pet Food has published specific sector guidelines developed alongside:

DEFRA

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

The Health Protection Agency (HPA)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA)

These documents help standardise safety practices in a growing and sometimes misunderstood sector.

When Things Go Wrong: Understanding Pet Food Recalls

Even with strict laws and oversight, manufacturing errors or contamination can still occur. When a potential safety risk is identified, companies issue a recall.

What is a pet food recall?

A recall happens when a manufacturer identifies an actual or potential safety problem. These can include:

Bacterial contamination

Improper labeling

Presence of foreign objects

Ingredient discrepancies

Incorrect nutritional composition

As mentioned in the introduction, the consequences of the foods that are recalled can range from nothing to devastating. Recalls are precautionary, not an indication that all products are dangerous.

Who announces a recall?

If a food is recalled you should be seeing announcements from:

The brand

Retailers

The FSA (official alerts)

Owners should monitor trusted sources such as the FSA website for accurate updates, however, this is quite a hard task to constantly monitor! If you buy online, it is possible you may receive an email, so make sure you actually open and read the important looking ones!

What does a recall notice look like?

An example includes:

Alert title

Product details (batch number, size, best-before date)

Reason for recall

Risk statement

Required actions for consumers

Point-of-sale notices in affected store

This ensures owners can identify affected batches and take appropriate action.

Raw Pet Food: Why It Has Additional Regulations

Raw feeding has grown significantly in popularity, but it also carries inherent microbiological risks. Raw meat can be contaminated with:

Salmonella

Listeria

Campylobacter

E. coli

Because raw food is not heat-treated, these bacteria are not killed during processing.

What raw manufacturers can use

Only specific, tightly controlled materials are allowed, such as:

Meat passed fit for human consumption but unused for commercial reasons

By-products from fish processing

Game fit for humans but rejected for non-health reasons

Certain materials unfit for humans but legally permitted (e.g., liver with fluke)

Mandatory Testing

Raw pet food producers must regularly send samples for testing at accredited labs. They must test for:

Salmonella

Enterobacteriaceae (e.g. E. coli)

Additional testing (e.g., for Listeria) is recommended due to its ability to grow at refrigerator temperatures.

Safe Sourcing and Storage

Manufacturers must:

Use high-quality, traceable raw materials

Only use approved transporters

Follow strict hygiene protocols

Label products with correct storage instructions

Educate customers on safe handling

These safeguards reduce – but cannot eliminate – risk.

Animal By-Products: Are They Unsafe?

One of the most misunderstood topics in pet food is animal by-products (ABPs). Online discussions often portray them negatively, yet the truth is more nuanced. In fact, animal by-products should not be portrayed badly, as they are safe, biologically available and prevent waste of animal carcasses.

What are by-products?

They are parts of animals that are safe and nutritious but not commonly eaten by humans in the UK. These include:

Liver

Heart

Kidney

Lung

Certain cuts of meat

Parts trimmed during butchery

These materials must come from animals inspected and approved for human consumption. They cannot come from:

Diseased animals

Animals that died outside a slaughterhouse

Category 1 or 2 ABPs (high-risk materials)

Category 3 ABPs

Pet food uses Category 3 ABPs – the lowest-risk category. These include:

Edible carcass parts fit for humans

Foods originally intended for human consumption but withdrawn for commercial reasons

ABPs are not only safe but often more nutritious than lean muscle meat, providing amino acids, vitamins, and minerals crucial for pet health.

Don’t equate ‘by-products’ as bad, and do not fall for the ‘human grade’ marketing ploy a lot of pet foods use; as you can see from the above, all animal food must be ‘fit for human consumption’.

Imported meats: Still Safe?

Trading pet food into and out of the UK involves strict regulations to ensure safety, quality, and traceability. Since Brexit, businesses must follow UK-specific rules covering animal by-products, labelling, and customs procedures.

Imports and exports may also require health certificates, tariffs and documentation, depending on the country involved. With careful compliance, the trade of pet food offers strong opportunities in a growing global market.

Again, although this highlights diligent controls when it comes to imported meats, it hasn’t been without its mishaps. For example, a letter in the Vet Record highlighted Linguatula serrata also known as “tongue worm”, having been diagnosed in an untraveled raw fed dog. A detailed history suggested a plausible source was from imported meat fed raw that has been the source of infection. Although adequate pre freezing of raw diets will kill the parasite, potential infection is another reason why we should be vigilant when sourcing, handling and feeding raw meat to pets, and adds to the other zoonotic health concerns we have.

The Bottom Line: So How Safe Is UK Pet Food?

Overall, pet food in the UK is highly regulated, thoroughly monitored, and subject to some of the strictest feed safety laws in the world. Between government oversight, industry charters, scientific guidelines, and transparent recall processes, the system is designed to protect pets and humans alike.

But no system is perfect. Errors can occur, especially in areas like: