Dry Food - Once Opened, How Many Weeks/months?

[marc999]

Hi folks,

Once opened - how many weeks/months do you keep dry cat food, to be considered palatable/safe?

I have some dry cat food which I've labeled May 25/2018 open date.
So that's now almost pushing 4 months. Is it time to toss it?
It's stored in original bag on top of fridge.

Perhaps I should start thinking about storing in the freezer.

 

[LTS3]

The bag might have a "best by" or a manufacture date on it. Check to see. A "best by" date is usually a year out so. Most people use up a bag well within a year. If not, it's better to buy the smallest bag available for the brand.

Dry food can go rancid after awhile. If you can, transfer the food to a food storage container and place in the fridge or freezer.

 

[marc999]

Thanks for the reply.

The date stamped on bags usually apply to unopened bags I thought.
Once opened - it will go rancid - the question is generally how long. A few weeks, a few months? In which case, once open it could go rancid well before the best-by date.

I was thinking about taking an 8lb bag next time and freezing 3 x 2lbs in ziplock bags and working with only 2lbs at a time.

I'm not sure if the thawed out kibble will turn to mush though, so looking for experience from others.

 

[LTS3]

It would take a few months for a bag of dry food to go rancid. If you store the open bag in a humid warm environment, it would go rancid faster.

 

[Tobermory]

I don’t feed dry food, but I do it for treats. In fact, I have some Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein dry in the fridge now. Here’s what my vet advised. All dry food has mites in it when you bring it home from the store. I’ve seen them under a microscope. Ugh. They continue to breed and multiply. Double ugh. He said I should freeze dry food for three days to kill existing mites so they won’t keep multiplying. I then transfer it into ziplocks and keep it in the fridge. It stays fresher and doesn’t turn to mush at all. Since I give it to only two of my three cats a bit at a time as a treat, one bag lasts for months. I’ve had absolutely no problem with it, and the girls still like it for treat time, even the picky one.

 

[duckpond]

I go through one bag of Dr. Elseys dry, about every 4 to 6 weeks. I keep it in the bag sealed well, in the pantry. Personally i would not want to go longer than this, but i know many do. I think partly it will depend on the environment as well, cool and dry, vs hot and humid.

 

[sabrinah]

I've yet to have an issue with a bag going bag, even when I buy the huge 12 lb ones and use it for months. I always pour a few pounds into a container, then seal the bag well, wrap it up, and put it somewhere no animal can reach it (currently the top of the fridge). It rarely even gets to 74 degrees here though (70 doesn't even happen often) so I don't have to worry about heat. If I opened the big bag daily it would probably go bad, but since I only open it like once a month it seems to stay good.

 

[marc999]

That's a better idea.

I think I'll buy an 8 lb bag, taking out only 2 lbs. at at time and putting that into tupperware/ziplock (1 month @ 1/4 cup/day).

Freezing the remaining 6 lbs., in the original bag.

Rinse and repeat every month.

I have been opening the bag daily and that's definitely resulted in the kibble going lighter in color by the 3rd month, I'm sure affecting the taste, if not nutritional value.

 

[jcnassoc]

Know this is old, but good insight and thoughts. Thanks, one and all!