Should You Freeze Meat Before Feeding It to Your Dog?

When preparing a raw diet for your dog, ensuring food safety is a priority. For DIY raw feeders, a key question often arises: Should you freeze meat before feeding it to your dog? While most premade raw dog foods are sold frozen, DIY feeders must consider the safest way to store and handle raw food. Freezing meat can help minimise risks, especially those related to bacterial contamination. But is freezing always necessary? Let’s explore the best practices, including the guidelines for freezing fish.

Understanding the Risks

Raw feeding is associated with various benefits.  However, raw meat can sometimes carry harmful bacteria. These pathogens are harmful to both dogs and humans. Although dogs are better equipped to handle bacteria in their food thanks to their highly acidic stomachs, they can still get sick from contaminated meat, or they can pass bacteria to humans through their waste or saliva.

The Role of Freezing

Freezing meat before feeding it to your dog can significantly reduce bacterial risks. Scientific studies show that freezing helps inactivate bacteria, yeasts, and moulds. While freezing may not completely kill bacteria, it slows their growth and can lower the overall bacterial count, making the food safer for your dog to consume.

For example, research published in the Journal of Food Protection found that freezing meat at -18°C (0°F) or colder can significantly reduce the risk of bacterial contamination. Freezing also helps eliminate parasites like Trichinella spiralis (in pork) and Toxoplasma gondii (in other meats), both of which pose risks to humans and dogs.

Human-Grade Meat: A Lower Risk

If you’re sourcing human-grade meat from a reputable store or butcher, the risk of contamination is generally lower. Human-grade meat is held to stricter food safety standards, undergoing more rigorous processing and inspection. Because of this, freezing human-grade meat isn’t strictly necessary for safety, but it’s still a good habit to get into.

Even with lower-risk human-grade meat, freezing can be beneficial, especially if you’re buying in bulk or storing meat for longer periods. Freezing ensures that the meat stays fresh and reduces the risk of spoilage.

Freezing Fish: A Special Consideration

Fish, especially wild-caught fish, presents a unique concern when it comes to raw feeding. Fish can carry parasites which pose risks to dogs. Freezing fish before feeding is strongly recommended to eliminate these parasites. It is advisable to freeze fish for at least two weeks to ensure that any parasites present are inactivated. This practice ensures your dog can safely enjoy the nutritional benefits of raw fish, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other essential nutrients.

Freezing Guidelines for Raw Feeders

For DIY raw feeders, freezing meat at -18°C or colder for 3-5 days is generally sufficient to reduce the bacterial load and inactivate parasites. For fish, however, freezing for at least two weeks is recommended to eliminate potential parasites.

When thawing frozen meat or fish, it’s important to do so in the refrigerator rather than leaving it at room temperature to prevent bacterial growth. Additionally, be mindful of hygiene practices, such as washing your hands, cutting boards, and utensils thoroughly after handling raw meat or fish.

Benefits of Freezing for Long-Term Storage

Freezing offers more than just safety, it’s also convenient. Freezing meat or fish allows you to store it for extended periods without the risk of spoilage. Many raw feeders find that freezing enables them to buy meat in bulk, saving money and ensuring they always have a supply of fresh food for their dogs.

Freezing for Safety and Convenience

Freezing meat before feeding it to your dog is a practical and effective way to reduce the risks associated with bacterial contamination, especially for DIY raw feeders. Even if you're sourcing high-quality, human-grade meat with lower contamination risks, freezing is still a good practice. It adds an extra layer of safety, ensures longer storage times, and makes meal prep more convenient.

For fish, in particular, freezing for at least two weeks is essential to eliminate parasites and keep your dog safe. By following these guidelines, you can continue to provide your dog with the many benefits of a raw diet whilst minimising risks.