I use a fair amount of lambs fry (liver) since I make my own dog treats and cakes. A friend recently bought some liver at the supermarket and was feeding it to her dog (raw) as a treat. I asked her if she had frozen the lamb first, and she hadn’t.
I explained that the liver I buy from the supermarket, which is human grade, comes with this warning:
She had purchased her human-grade liver from her local supermarket but it wasn’t marked. So I asked a few questions about labeling and, apparently, a warning about freezing or cooking is only required if the liver is sold for pets; if selling for humans, this type of labeling isn’t required because it is assumed that humans will be cooking the liver. My supermarket opts to label the lambs fry even though it is sold in the human-grade butchery area.
Eating of raw liver (if not frozen beforehand) increases the risk of hydatids. Since many pet owners opt to buy human-quality food, I wonder if we are missing a vital step in educating people about the risks? Raw pet food retailers in our area all supply their products to consumers in a frozen state.
Anyway, my friend promised to go home and freeze the remaining liver first before feeding it to her dog…
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
DoggyMom.com 