Pets are family. Now more than ever pet owners want to feed their dogs and cats as they feed themselves: natural and free-from. Pet food companies have acknowledged the inner circle status of pets by offering a broad range of solution-oriented diets boasting high quality ingredients to improve health at every stage of life. Owners make careful choices, open the package and …
Just how long does an open bag of meat, fish, or poultry last at room temperature? The answer is six weeks under ideal* storage conditions.
Dry pet food products with a shelf life specified in years is a promise that might convince owners food quality remains stable in or out of the bag. In fact the nutritional value of kibble begins its decline as soon as the bag is opened. Those “best by” and “best before” dates apply to sealed bags only.
Big Four: Oxygen, Moisture/Humidity, Temperature, Light
Kibble contains high levels of fat, a macronutrient extremely susceptible to oxygen. Opening the bag brings fat into contact with oxygen triggering a spontaneous process called oxidation. As fat oxidizes the nutritional quality of the food decreases, the food begins to smell less appealing to your pet’s superb nose and eventually the fat becomes rancid. Moisture, humidity, warming temperatures, and sunlight speed up the oxidation process.
Countering the damaging effects of oxygen is the work of antioxidants, substances that play a dual role beginning in the dry food package and continuing in your pet’s body. Besides keeping kibble fresh, antioxidants are essential dietary nutrients that provide numerous benefits including immune system support for a long life and healthy aging. If fat-soluble antioxidants including vitamins A and E succumb to oxidation, nutrition for your pet will be incomplete.
After the pet food bag is opened, handling and storage conditions are key:
Pet food bags are designed to be highly effective barriers against oxygen, light, and moisture/humidity.
Keeping kibble in the bag has the added benefit of retaining the expiration date and manufacturing codes if you (or your pet) find any problem with the food.
To maintain freshness, place the clipped bag inside an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place.
Is the Pet Food Stale?
As enthusiastic consumers of funky stuff, most dogs make it impossible to tell when kibble has overstayed its welcome. Cats tend to be more selective. Signs include kibble littering the floor around the feeding area or lots of kibble crumbs, the result of biting off edges and ends before swallowing the less stale centers. Oversized kibble is a tougher call. The only clue the food lacks freshness may be a waning appetite.
Kibble is not as tough as it looks. After six weeks the nutritional quality of an open bag of dry pet food will be substantially lower than when the bag was first opened. The same can be said of dry pet food after 24 hours sitting in an open bowl.
Always treat kibble as if your pet’s long-term health depends on it.
* Ideal storage = Cool, dark, dry, and airtight. Less than or equal to 70 degrees F and humidity less than 15 percent.
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