What gives pet food its shelf life? You may have noticed that dry pet food is labeled for about a year after you buy it. What you may not know, however, is that it’s good for a year, as long as the bag is unopened. How do the manufacturers do that? By adding natural or chemical preservatives, and by sterilizing the product. The only way that dog food lasts without spoiling is because it’s sterile and sealed in a vacuum.
This leads a lot of people to believe that the pet food that they buy can last a long time in the bag. And it can – as long as you don’t open it! Pet food is greasy to the touch because it’s sprayed with fat. Once you open the bag, air, bacteria, and fungi get in, causing oxidation of the product, a.k.a. rotting.
“But the food still looks okay!”
We can’t see the damage that is occurring as the food deteriorates on a microscopic level. Dry pet foods are so processed that it takes them a long time to physically change as they rot. A common experience is washing the dog bed that has some kibbles stuck to it, and having the dog food go through the washer and dryer and come out looking just the same as it did before.
“But it still smells okay!”
Human noses are relatively insensitive. If our pets turn away from their food, we probably shouldn’t add things to it to make them eat it. They can smell mold and toxins better than we can. There’s a reason why we don’t have drug- or bomb-sniffing people.
“But he still eats it!”
We need to be smarter than our pets, if we’re going to be the ones filling the food bowls. Most of the time our pets only have access to the food we offer them, and it’s up to us to make sure that it’s the highest quality, cleanest stuff that we can provide. Sporadic vomiting or loss of appetite can be signs that the food has gone bad in spite of its appearance.
If you’re going to feed kibble, don’t buy a bag larger than the amount you will use in one week. Once you open the bag, place it in an airtight container that is not plastic, because plastic absorbs grease and odors. Make sure the lid is closed tight between feedings. Even better, feed your pet a homemade cooked or raw diet made from fresh or frozen ingredients each time. It may seem harder than scooping kibble out of a bag, but with experience it gets quicker and easier, and the rewards are worth the effort!