Pet foods are the complete dietary products to make your furry friends healthy and happy. What if we say repacking dry pet food is not recommended? Then, what to do with such a large quantity of pet food, as it’s not meant for one-time consumption? This is always a controversial topic in the pet industry.
Let us brief if repacking dog or cat dry food makes it purposeful and healthy or not. If you are a pet parent, you need to know about this and consider critical insights.
The Reasons Why Repacking Is Not Recommended:
Typically, dry pet food comes in bags with an extra lining that protects the food from oxygen and moisture. Once the package seal is broken or food is kept loose in the permeable bag, the chance for oxygen, moisture, dust mites, and other contaminants gets more to spoil the food. The specific reasons to advocate repacking dry pet food are as follows;
1. Infestation: Food in the repacking process is packed within the cheapest quality of bags with low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Thus are not food-grade, cleaned, and sterilized plastic bags. The packing process is also unhygienic, as done by non-trained workers, so can be the risk of unsanitary conditions.
2. Oxidation: Antioxidants like Vitamin E etc., are there in dry-packed food, thus also helpful in slowing down of oxidation process. The 100% permeable bags are great, so oxidation is at its peak once open. It even results in invisible mould. The oxidation of fats will lead to many severe health problems like cancer.
3. Mould: Moisture is also a prime cause when food is repacked into permeable plastic bags. Dry food grains will absorb moisture, which can grow mould that is non-visible to the naked eye. It is even non-detectable by our pet’s taste buds but is dangerous to trigger the immune system slowly. Thus it leads to toxins and long-term health problems among pets.
The Right Ways To Store Dry Pet Food:
1. Small Bags: After opening dry food for your pet, consume it within two months. If you have purchased kilograms of dry pet food, keep it stored in small bags of high-quality plastic and food grade. This is important to keep dry food fresh, healthy, and away from contaminants.
2. Store In Food Bin: Buying larger pet food bags is economical, but storage can be a hassle. Therefore, store it in food-grade bins or boxes/containers for optimum level of freshness. This is good to keep it preserve it unhealthy matters and contaminants. Make sure you store the food container in a cool and dry place, even away from direct sunlight.
3. Buy Low-Fat Content Food: Dry pet food comes with a variety of options in ingredients and quantity. If not opting for smaller packages, buy dry food for the pet with low-fat content. You can add your own fresh source of natural fats recommended for pets and mix them. Low-fat content dry pet food lowers the risk of rodents, moulds, and oxidation.
The Mistakes To Avoid While Storing Dog Food:
If you are a pet parent, you must keep your pet food safe and hygienic in proper storage. Most pet owners never care for or avoid paying attention to pet food storage, which can be dangerous for pet health. So if you do the same as below, cross off your habits as follows;
1. Storing In Wrong Place: People with pets but less space at home keep food in the wrong places like garages, washing areas, open backyards, or unhealthy environments. So stop it, as it can degrade the quality of pet food. Moreover can break down within oils and nutrients. Don’t expose pet food open to pets like insects and rodents. It is good to store it within a clean and specific area where you keep dog essentials. Make sure the package is sealed, or use a food-grade bin/plastic bag to store it in a cool and dry place.
2. Leaving It Unsealed: Saving time or being lazy is not good enough, so keep pet food sealed every time you give it to your pet. Leaving it unsealed can cause oxidation, moisture, and contamination. This can make your pet sick and even can worsen health slowly. Keep it airtight and well stored always.
3. Keeping Wrongly Out From Original Packing: If your storage container or bag is not of high-quality plastic, you risk your pet’s health. The container or bag should be food-grade. The best is to keep food in its original packing and store it in a container or bin. Pouring dry pet food can hold bacteria, moulds, and mites.
4. Topping Off The Food: Generally, people don’t wash the airtight container already used to keep pet food. Once it’s empty, wash the bin and dry it completely before adding a new fresh food package. Do it constantly, as leftover fat and crumbs in the container can smell bad and unhealthy.
5. Leaving Canned Dog Food For Too Long: No, it can be a risk to the pet’s health. If you use wet dog food to feed your furry friend, breeding bacteria and flies can be risky, especially when kept open for hours. The recommended way is open canned food; if all is not used, store it in a reusable, food-grade container. Yeah! Don’t forget to refrigerate it and use it within 2-3 days for pets only.
6. Ignored Expiration: Unlike medicines, and canned food, our pet’s dry food also have an expiry date. This needs to be taken seriously as it lowers the nutritional value of the food. So be careful with pet food expiration and packing date as a priority. Using it before it expires or buying it in smaller quantities can be best for pet parents with pups and kittens who eat less.
7. No Regular Washing Of Pet Bowls: If you really take your pet’s health seriously, don’t miss or forget to wash their own regularly. Feeding in an unwashed food bowl of a pet can cause bacteria, mildew, mould, contaminants, and dust. Invest a few minutes in washing your pet bowl, measuring cup, or scoops with soap and hot water as suggested by FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
The Bottom Line:
Being a pet parent is not easy. A regime for pets’ showers, medications, health-check-up, nutritional food, and playtime is all your responsibility. So make it a habit to give your furry friend a happy and healthy life. If you are stuck in the repacked dry pet food that is healthy and safe, then we hope the read is definite to decide better. Ensure you store pet dry food properly to keep it fresh and away from contaminants.
