How long does Arden Grange dog food last
How Long Does Dog Kibble Last Once Opened?
This post contains affiliate links.
Kibble is a dry dog food that looks like it should last forever because of how it is manufactured. When you walk into a store to purchase Kibble, you may automatically go straight to your brand, but what do you know about the food? Since preservatives and advances in dry food have improved significantly, you would think Kibble can last a long time, right?
Dog Kibble lasts for about two weeks once opened, depending on storage techniques. There is an expiration on dry Kibble and preservatives can help prolong its lifespan. However, its not enough.
In this article, you are going to learn the shelf life of both open and closed Kibble. Plus, you will learn about preservatives, storage techniques, and how long it takes to get through a bag. Finally, you will also learn how to tell if the Kibble has gone rancid.
What Is the Standard Length of Time Kibble Lasts?
The general census is that dry Kibble, once open, will be no good to serve your pet after two weeks. You might be able to prolong the life of the Kibble by storing it properly. However, the best time to use it once you open is within that two-week window. You dont want to risk your Kibble going rancid.
The day you open your Kibble is the day you start counting. At the end of the fourteenth day, you want to stop giving it. However, there are certain conditions that could lead you to stop giving the Kibble sooner than the two-week cut-off.
Shouldnt Preservatives Keep the Kibble Good for Longer?
No matter what type of Kibble you choose, there are probably going to be preservatives in it. There are two types of Kibble, either natural or with preservatives. What these preservatives do is delay the oxidation process. Lower and higher quality Kibble will have different preservatives in them.
Lower quality Kibble uses something called ethoxyquin. This is a preservative that was once used as a pesticide, and is now controversially used in Kibble. Higher quality food uses natural preservatives. You will know this as they will be presented as tocopherols and ascorbate. These are known to be bad for your dog.
Preservatives will help prolong the Kibbles shelf life, but they do not make the Kibble last beyond two weeks. The preservatives are more useful for the Kibble while kept in a closed bag than an opened one. Plus, you do not want to rely on the preservatives; they are no better for dogs than humans.
Proper Kibble Storage
When it comes to storing Kibble, you want to make sure that you store it in a dry, temperature-regulated place like a pantry. Do not store your Kibble in a garage or basement. Both places are prone to moisture, which can severely impact the integrity of the food. Additionally, you cannot regulate the temperature when stored in these locations.
If you buy large bags of Kibble at a time, you need to store the excess to keep it in good condition for as long as possible. If you keep the Kibble in the bag, make sure to seal it properly and let all the air escape as you close it up. It is also best to refrain from purchasing excess Kibble. What your dog can eat in a two-week span is what you should buy.
Other common ways to store Kibble include an airtight storage container. Dont use any container for storing the food; it needs to be one that will keep air out to avoid oxidation of the food. The best plan is to leave the Kibble in the original container that it came in.
No matter what container you use for storing your pets food, you need to make sure that the food container is kept clean. Furthermore, do not top up the food container with smaller packages of Kibble. You want to make sure all the food gets finished before you purchase more. When you top up the food, the lower levels go for much longer than two weeks without being eaten.
Leaving the lower food uneaten can lead to it becoming rancid and infecting all the foods integrity, whether you notice it or not. Always rinse and dry the storage container before placing new food in it. It is essential you make sure the container is dry or mold will spore.
How to Tell When the Food Has Gone Rancid
The idea that dry dog food will go rancid seems foreign to most people, but that is because it can be difficult to tell when it happens. Dogs have a sense of smell that is much stronger than that of a human, so your dog may notice the food isnt good before you do. However, dont trust that because some dogs will eat anything.
You will know that your Kibble has gone rancid when:
- You see signs of moisture, bugs, and even mold growing on it
- The food produces a sour and pungent odor
- The food has been exposed to either moisture or heat
- The food has gone past its expiration date
- Your dog refuses to eat or gets sick immediately after eating it
There are three primary ways that food goes rancid. The main ways that your Kibble can go wrong are by being exposed to:
Keeping the Kibble away from moisture or heat will help to keep the food fresh longer. Dry and cold is the best option for storage as it will keep the Kibble for the entire two-week duration.
The Verdict: Kibble Goes Bad After Two Weeks Even With Proper Storage
Once you open Kibble, you have about two weeks until it goes wrong. You want your pet to consume the Kibble as quickly as possible to avoid inadvertently giving rancid food to your pet. With proper storage, the Kibble will last the entire two weeks.
Proper storage includes either keeping it in the original packing with a way to seal it airtight or by using a clean airtight container that will prevent moisture from entering. You want to avoid heat and air as well.
Always check the Kibble for any sign of being rancid when you doubt the integrity of the food. Mold, bugs, or a pungent smell can be indicators that the food has gone wrong. Your pet refusing to eat the Kibble can be another sign as well.
Be careful not to feed rancid food to your dog. Some dogs will eat it anyway because they dont pay enough attention. In that case, your dog could get very sick, eating decaying food.
Conclusion
Kibble is an excellent choice of pet food, as it has all the proper nutrients that your pet needs. To keep those nutrients, it is essential that you learn to store the Kibble properly and not give it to your pet past the expiration date.
Oxidized Kibble will lose those valuable nutrients rendering it unfit for your pet. You want to keep it in airtight containers, away from moisture or heat to prevent the food from becoming rancid.
Whether rotten or not, do not serve Kibble that is over two weeks old to your pet. Your pet might or might not eat it, but if you want them healthy, giving the freshest possible Kibble will ensure that. Therefore, once opened Kibble reaches two weeks, you need to discard it and buy a new bag. Your pet will thank and love you for that.
Sources
Mrdogfood.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We also participate in other affiliate programs which compensate us for referring traffic.
Arden Grange Adult Review
| Advertisement |
Suitable for all breeds of dogs
Private label(or
white label) pet foods are pre-formulated recipes that companies can order from certain factories, add their own label or packaging and retail to the public as their own brand. They are therefore available from numerous suppliers.
Click here for more info.
Mixing bowl composition
This is the ingredients list as printed on the packaging or manufacturer's website.
Think of the 'mixing bowl' composition like a recipe - all the ingredients you would need to put in a 'mixing bowl' in order to make the food.
Ingredients have to be listed in descending order of their weight so the higher it appears, the more there is.
Highlighted ingredients
Ingredients that we believe to be controversial or inferior are highlighted in yellow with particularly low grade, highly contentious or excessively vague ingredients in red.
As fed composition
While the 'mixing bowl' composition is useful for knowing what went into the food, it doesn't always reflect what your dog is actually eating. This is because the processes that turn the ingredients into the finished pet food can significantly alter the relative weights of the ingredients.
For this reason we've calculated the approximate 'as fed' percentages for the main ingredient categories in the finished product.
Please note that these figures are very approximate. They are estimates based on the information provided by the manufacturer in the ingredients list so the clearer the terminology and the more percentages they provide, the more accurate our estimates will be. Wherever information is lacking, we always assume the worst.
Ingredient categories
Meat ingredients: includes all meat and fish ingredients except isolated fats/oils.
Added oils and fats: includes all isolated oil and fat ingredients.
Carb-rich ingredients: includes all ingredients derived from grains, pseudo-grains, potatoes and other starchy root vegetables, sweet potato and legumes (except whole peas which are categorised under fruit and veg) except for isolated protein and extracted oils. Also includes fibre supplements.
Fruit and veg: includes all whole vegetables and fruits.
Other: all other ingredients. Mostly made up by nutritional supplements and additives.
For more information on any ingredient, please take a look at our Dog Food Ingredient Glossary
The dry matter level of a nutrient is the percentage there would be in the food if all of the water was removed.
With water taken out of the equation, these figures allow the nutrient levels of foods of different types (like wet and dry) to be compared on an even playing field.
Click here for more information
The
price per dayof feeding this food based on feeding the manufacturer's recommended daily amount from 12kg bags bought at their rrp to a dog of:
Note:All suggested feeding amounts and costs are only approximate and may vary considerably from dog to dog. Be sure to contact the manufacturer if in any doubt.
62 out of 100-Good
Our unique product ratings are calculated based on a number of characteristics including the quality and quantity of the stated ingredients, certain nutritional and technological additives and the processing methods used to create the food. They are designed to indicate how beneficial we think a food is likely to be for the majority of dogs when fed on a daily basis for an extended period. Click here for more information
Country of origin: United Kingdom
A technological additive is any substance added to a pet food "for a technological purpose and which favourably affects the characteristics of feed".
The most common categories of technological additives include preservatives and antioxidants, gelling agents and thickeners and probiotics.
While the primary effects of technoloical additives are certainly 'favourable' (increased shelf life in the case of preservatives & antioxidants, better food texture and consistency in the case of gelling agents and thickeners etc.) some have been linked to health problems in pets and should be treated with caution.
Unfortunately, many technological additives do not have to be declared by the manufacturer so just because they do not appear on the label does not necessarily mean they are not in the food. If in doubt, ask the manufacturer directly exactly what technological additives their foods contain.
