For a good diet and the right nutrition, your cat depends on you. So it's important that you pay special attention to the quality and freshness of the food you provide. After all, food poisoning does occur in cats. Food poisoning is usually caused by eating raw or inadequately cooked food or, if your cat is more the adventurous type, from foraging for waste in rubbish bins.

Illness from manufactured pet food, however, is very rare thanks to stringent quality assurance and safety checks throughout the manufacturing process. However, it's always best to check the 'Use by' date to ensure maximum freshness. You do it for yourself when out shopping, so why not for your cat too?

Starting with the selection of raw ingredients right through to warehousing and delivery, the manufacture of pet food is closely monitored every step of the way.  Processes, additives, ingredients, and product safety are all regulated by detailed protocols and regulations of the European Union.

Cooking
Regulated and automated, the cooking process is designed to eliminate bacteria and moulds.

• Canned and pouches are cooked by sealed-in pressure cooking.
• Dry foods are extruded (flash cooking a dough at high pressure) or baked.
• Finished products are segregated from the incoming raw materials to prevent cross-contamination.

Packaging

• Canned foods are sealed to prevent any further contact with external micro-organisms or exposure to oxygen which cause spoilage.
• Lacquered linings for cans and the foil of pouches prevent the food from interacting with the metal. Damaged cans are at risk because the protection seal may have been broken. Avoid swollen cans or pouches.
• Dry foods remain fresh over many months because bacteria can't grow and spoil food when moisture levels are low.
• Dry food packaging and the fatty coating of biscuits help prevent the entry of moisture and oxygen that can cause food spoilage during storage.
• Once opened, cover dry foods and store in a cool dry place. Do not store moistened dry foods as moulds may grow, which can harm your pet.

Ingredient selection and quality
Every ingredient used in commercially-produced food must have a specification sheet requiring suppliers to meet established levels of quality. Suppliers use standardised analytical techniques to ensure ingredients conform to EU regulations and are free of, or meet the minimal safe levels of, toxins and metals, as well as offering the correct nutrient content. Fallen animals or spoiled cereals are excluded from pet foods, as are certain organs like brain, spleen and spinal chord. Meats are delivered to factories frozen or chilled to ensure quality. And any additives used have to conform to EU regulations and be certified as safe.