Risk perception and food safety practices among Slovenian pet owners: does raw meat feeding of pets make a difference?

Commercially produced and home-made raw meat-based pet diets are becoming increasingly popular and have been recognised as an emerging public health risk by the European Food Safety Authority. The aim of this study was to investigate risk perceptions and self-reported pet food preparation practices in the home setting among pet owners who feed raw meat-based diet to pets. An online questionnaire was distributed to pet owners through social media groups. Ultimately, 750 respondents were included in the detailed analysis, divided into two subgroups, a "raw group" consisted of pet owners who provided raw meat-based diets for pets (n = 382), while the "conventional group" consisted of pet owners who did not (n = 368). There was no significant difference between the two groups in overall risk perception. Only one third of respondents in both groups were aware of the potentially fatal consequences of food poisoning. Self-reported frequency of hand washing, and surface cleaning, were significantly higher (p = 0.000) in the raw group than the conventional group. Food safety malpractices were noted in the raw feeding group, with 47% reporting to rinsing raw peat meat before preparing it, and 42% thawing frozen raw peat meat at room temperature on the kitchen counter. The results provide information on the prevalence of feeding raw meat to pets among Slovenian pet owners and provides the basis for developing tailored food safety education campaigns to improve risk awareness and provide food safety recommendations for pet owners providing raw meat-based diets for pets in Slovenia.