Regarding the "salmonella warning" for "people in Denmark" :

While I understand this list is read by folks from all over the world,
I can't help but see this post as a jibe towards people that feed their
ferrets raw meaty bones and natural prey, especially being sent by
someone opposed to feeding natural diets.

This is IMO merely another attempt to frighten people against feeding
their ferret's an appropriate diet! Do a google search for "pet food
salmonella" and you'll be amazed at how many instances salmonella
bacteria have been found even IN PROCESSED PACKAGED KIBBLES! Bacteria
are all around us, on us and IN us - if our body's (and our ferret's)
defense systems are healthy then these bacterium are not a life
threatening concern! Ferrets fed all natural diets become amazingly
healthy!

I for one am NOT concerned about salmonella infections for either
myself or my ferrets and am NOT about to go COOKING their food! And I
certainly am not going to put them back on a kibble diet - not when
I've seen the tremendous benefits of being on an appropriate diet!

I wash my hands, wash their dishes, rinse their raw items and raise
healthy mice. Because I offer fresh food twice a day the ferrets
generally ignore stashed morsels. But occasionally I've seen them
toting off a particularly "seasoned" piece and gnawing on it. Its their
choice, it hasn't caused any illness and I REFUSE to fall into the
propaganda trap that processed and cooked foods are healthier for my
ferrets!

Salmonella has been found even in DRY cereal packaged for human
consumption! As this report in April of 2008 states on
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/13/cereal.recall.ap/index.html

FDA: Same Salmonella strain in recalled cereal sickens 23 people

* Story Highlights
* Malt-O-Meal recalled unsweetened Puffed Rice, Puffed Wheat cereals
  April 5
* Routine testing found salmonella in bags under Malt-O-Meal name and
  private labels
* Three people have been hospitalized, CDC saysOn this site
  <http://www.bact.wisc.edu/Microtextbook/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=198>

By Lucy Garcia July 28, 1998
There has been a dramatic rise in the incidence of salmonellosis all
over the world, including the United States. In the U.S. alone there
are an estimated 2-4 million cases annually, (FDA/CFSAN, 1992)
resulting in more than 500 deaths per year (CDC, 1998). The genus name
of Salmonella is frequently named as the culprit of infection, but
there are approximately 2,000 serotypes of Salmonella that can cause
sickness in humans (CDC, 1998). A common myth is that you can only get
Salmonella from raw eggs, but various Salmonella species have been
found in foods such as raw meats, poultry, swine, milk and dairy
products, fish, frog legs, yeast, coconut, peanut butter, chocolate,
and environmental sources such as water, insects, and kitchen surfaces.
The frightening reality is that cases of Salmonella are being reported
in new mediums that were once thought harmless, such as the recent
infections linked to a toasted oat cereal.

See here on
<http://www.webmd.com/news/20080515/update-dog-food-salmonella-outbreak>

CDC Investigation Shows Dozens of People Fell Ill in 2006-2007 From
Salmonella in Dry Dog Food
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

May 15, 2008 -- At least 70 people in 19 states were sickened by
salmonella in dry dog food from 2006 to 2007, the CDC says.

Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea (which may be bloody), fever and
abdominal cramps. Most people recover within a week without treatment,
but some cases can be severe. Infants, elders, and people with weak
immune systems are particularly vulnerable.

and on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19076207/

updated 4:08 p.m. ET, Wed., June. 6, 2007

MANASSAS, Va. - A pet food maker Wednesday recalled some of its dog
food sold exclusively at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. because of concerns
about possible salmonella contamination.

The recall issued by Brentwood, Tenn.-based Doane Pet Care Co. is
unrelated to recent pet food recalls connected to tainted Chinese
proteins used in some pet food production.

Only a single batch of 55-pound bags of Ol' Roy Complete Nutrition
dog food is being recalled.

on http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/02/fda_wild_kitty.html

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to
purchase or use Wild Kitty Cat Food due to the presence of Salmonella,
a pathogen. The FDA said that during routine monitoring activities,
it collected and analyzed a sample of frozen raw Wild Kitty Cat Food
and detected Salmonella in the product. Cats and other pets consuming
this food may become infected with Salmonella. People can also become
infected with Salmonella if they handle or ingest the cat food, touch
pets that consumed the food, or touch any surfaces that came into
contact with the food or pets. The specific products covered by this
warning are Wild Kitty Raw All Natural, Frozen Cat Food, Chicken with
Clam Recipe, Net Wt. 3.5 oz (100g) and 1 lb in plastic containers.

This site http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_64666.html
puts salmonella in proper perspective regarding processed pet foods:
 ....One expert thinks contamination of pet food is likely to become
more commonplace. "There have been problems with pet foods before,"
said Dr. Pascal James Imperato, chairman of the department of
preventive medicine and community health at the State University of
New York Downstate Medical Center in New York City. "If the food had
any animal product in it, there could have been contamination, or if it
was being processed in a plant where they were also processing animal
product, then contamination can easily occur," he said. Imperato said
the way food is produced makes it more likely that contamination will
occur. "There is greater industrialization of the production of food
products, both for humans and animals, and these are complex processing
systems. Therefore, there is greater opportunity for contamination,"
Imperato said. "We are likely to see many more of these problems."

My ferrets have become amazingly healthier on their natural diet (as
compared to how they were when adopting them they were previously on
various kibbles), raw meaty bones and natural prey is what mother
nature intended for them to eat. I can do one better on nature by
offering them raw meaty bones from sources intended for human
consumption as well as raising mice in a healthy, controlled
environment. I have ZERO control over what goes into a kibble, or how
that kibble gets manufactured, packaged or stored! So my ferrets do
get fed a MUCH safer diet than what I could get from a bag of mystery
crunchies! Besides knowing the actrual ingredients my ferrets are
eating, these ingredients offer more bio available nutrients as well
as supreme oral health and mental activity!

I'm not going to stop eating sushi either, or sunny side up eggs, or
rare steak!

Regards,
Kim

[Moderator's note: Whatever the postion on raw feeding vs a commercial
diet, I encourage anyone learning of a potential recall of EITHER to
alert us. BIG]

[Posted in FML 6022]