Maintaining a clean and hygienic kitchen is crucial for food safety, but a new study highlights a commonly overlooked source of potential danger.
Neglecting to wash your dog’s food bowl regularly could not only affect their health, but yours too.
Research conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sheds light on the hygiene habits of dog owners and the concerning implications of unclean dog food dishes for both pets and their owners.
The study, which surveyed 417 dog owners, reveals alarming statistics about the frequency of washing dog bowls.
Only 12 percent of participants reported washing their dog’s dish daily, while 22 percent cleaned it once a week, and another 18 percent admitted to washing it every three months or not at all.
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Forty-three percent of participants stored dog food within 1.5 meters of human food, while 34 percent failed to wash their hands after feeding their dogs, and 33 percent prepared dog food on surfaces intended for human use.
The FDA has set out a list of guidelines for owners to follow to lower their risk of developing an illness from contaminated pet food and treats.
The study added: “Exposure to contaminated dog food can have implications for canine and human health. For example, there have been multiple outbreaks of both humans and dogs becoming ill after exposure to dog food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria.
“These risks may be amplified in households with children and/or immunocompromised individuals, which were over a third of respondents’ households.”