Cost Effectiveness and freshness.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

As for food going rancid, as long as it's reasonably sealed up it should be ok. The stuff sits in unheated and non air conditioned warehouses, sometimes for months. They do make the dry to tolerate that sort of storage. Humidity is the problem.

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It depends on the food. The "natural" cat foods have a shorter shelf-life, so it is important to read the info on the bag.
The other issue is not the food itself going rancid, but the fat residue left on storage containers. If the food is poured out of the original bags into storage containers, there is a fat residue left over and that can go rancid and/or grow bacteria. Also some plastic chemicals can leach into the food, and some of them may be leached more when fat is present.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

It depends on the food. The "natural" cat foods have a shorter shelf-life, so it is important to read the info on the bag.
The other issue is not the food itself going rancid, but the fat residue left on storage containers. If the food is poured out of the original bags into storage containers, there is a fat residue left over and that can go rancid and/or grow bacteria. Also some plastic chemicals can leach into the food, and some of them may be leached more when fat is present.

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All but the cheapest foods tend to be fat and mixed tocopherols now. Even a lot of your grocery store foods are on this. The local plant has a lot of foods preserved this way and they still have a shelf life of a year. The thing is when you buy it in the store it's usually already been sitting in a warehouse for a few months (which is good).

If you're not washing out containers, you're stupid. (If one is so adverse to basic cleaning, a bag isn't going to protect their cat - the house is probably dirty, too)
If you're not using a food grade plastic to store food, again you're stupid. Simply put.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Because I don't want to wrestle with large bags I'll dump a small amount into food grade storage containers that I keep in the kitchen and scoop out of those for a few days. The bags get rolled up after opening and kept together in a large storage container. I don't like dumping all of the food out of the bag because then you either need to keep the bag(s) or write down the codes off of it in case there's a problem.

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This is what I do, too. And then, I cut off and save the numbers of the bag for a while afterward too. And I save one can out of each new batch of canned food for a time, too.

I also save the pertinent info on the packaging of Tolly's Denosyl and Mazy's cosequin for a time.

Even some "food grade" plastics may leach chemicals, take BPA for example.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Even some "food grade" plastics may leach chemicals, take BPA for example.

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That's a good point. I keep kicking around the idea of going to glass containers for the weekly supply of kibble, but....I am a dropper. My hands just don't always do what I want them to do, and I don't want to be sweeping up glass and kibble all the time.

I wonder....maybe stainless steel containers? They are expensive though.

I've thought about the glass containers used for floor, sugar, etc, too. But alas, like otto, I drop things. Though I suppose it wouldn't be so bad as long as you handle it as little as possible. The plus side is that the containers would very neatly fit inside of a dishwasher and a wax/oil pencil could be used to write on them.

My dry serving bowls are stainless steel, and wet serving are clear glass.

For food storage, the stuff comes in bags made for that purpose, so I don't understand the point of emptying it into a different container.

I just roll the bag up, pushing out all the air, and then use my clip to hold it closed. To get food out of it, I use a stainless steel scoop, washed when I wash the bowls.

Easy peasy.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

For food storage, the stuff comes in bags made for that purpose, so I don't understand the point of emptying it into a different container.

I just roll the bag up, pushing out all the air, and then use my clip to hold it closed. To get food out of it, I use a stainless steel scoop, washed when I wash the bowls.

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I'd like to see you find a convenient place in the kitchen for ~50lbs of food, plus all of the canned foo. (small '60s style kitchen at that)

I actually remembered I had a bunch of quart sized pickle and sourkaurt jars. I wish the mouths were a little larger but the weight isn't too heavy for me at that size. Maybe a jar that size would work for those who can't lift much or have weakness in their hands? (plus general clumsiness)

I do think people dump food into other containers for storage purposes and plus with the bag it is easy spillage when you go to get food out of it. (for me anyways LOL) but for some people I guess bags are just as convienent as containers.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I'd like to see you find a convenient place in the kitchen for ~50lbs of food, plus all of the canned foo.

(small '60s style kitchen at that)

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Our food needs to be in the kitchen, because thats where we prepare our food for consumption. Canned and dry food is already prepared, and probably more sanitary not to have it by your own food anyway. I keep mine in a hallway closet, and I put it out for them in the great room.

I do store dry food in a large plastic container on wheels. TOTW only comes in 15 lb bags as the largest so we go through that fairly quickly. And that's good b/c it doesn't get stale.

Water only goes in stainless... with the exception of the pet fountain. Can't get around that. Their dry is in stainless, too. Their wet is off of china or glass. I found they don't like "licking" their wet food off of the stainless. Must be a residual taste of metal.

Originally Posted by otto

That's a good point. I keep kicking around the idea of going to glass containers for the weekly supply of kibble, but....I am a dropper. My hands just don't always do what I want them to do, and I don't want to be sweeping up glass and kibble all the time.

I wonder....maybe stainless steel containers? They are expensive though.

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That comment about leaching from plastic has been haunting me so.....

I've done it! Gone to pyrex for the storage of the daily use kibbles. There are currently four kinds in use, but once certain brands are used up, there will be two kinds, Mazy's c/d and the Innova kitten and cat for the other three (as snacks, Tolly Jennie and Queen Eva are on a canned diet.)

Then I will have two extra, so that when one is being washed (between fillings) another can be used.

Whoohoo!

Now, I just have to be careful to never hold them above "free space", just keep them always above the counter, so if I drop them they won't drop far.

^ I forgot all about the pyrex bowls (with lids) that I have up in the cabinet. Probably because I only use them occasionally.