How Can You Tell If Dog Food Has Gone Bad?
There are a couple of telltale signs that your dog’s dinner is past its prime. Here are some things to look out for while inspecting your mutt’s meals:
1. Something smells suspicious. Bad odors are a key sign that your dog’s food isn’t as fresh as it could be. Of course, you’ll still want to use common sense. Fish-focused foods are bound to smell, well, fishy, and the same goes for other doggie delights. However, if you notice a sharp, rancid odor, or a huge difference in smell from previous food batches, it could be a sign that the food has gone bad.
2. You find mold. Any signs of mold or moisture (in the case of dry food) mean that it’s time to toss out your dog’s food. Unfortunately, our furry friends can develop food poisoning from even a small amount of moldy food.
3. There are bugs in your dog’s food. First of all, ew! If you see any bugs in your dog’s food, it’s time to toss it. While the bugs themselves won’t necessarily harm your hound, it’s a sign that the food was not stored properly on it’s way to your pup’s plate, so it’s best to stay on the safe side and get rid of the contaminated food entirely. Plus, bugs may crawl through bacteria or other potentially dangerous substances, which they can then spread to your dog’s food.
4. The food is past the bag’s expiration date. While expired food may not necessarily have gone bad, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
5. Your dog isn’t interested in the food. Don’t misunderstand: Dogs may turn their noses up at a new or unfamiliar food without it indicating anything about the food’s safety or quality — picky eater dogs may just not like the new offering. However, if your furry friend usually wolfs down his food and doesn’t seem interested in a particular batch, it might be a sign that the food isn’t fresh or safe to eat anymore. Take your pooch’s preferences seriously and just order a new bag of food.
If your dog’s food exhibits any of the above signs, the food isn’t fit for Fido. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so make sure you’re evaluating your dog’s food appropriately.
Don’t forget to apply the same scrutiny to your dog’s treats that you do his food — treats can and do go bad over time.
However, it’s harder to make generalizations about the length of time different treats will last, as they come in so many different forms. For example, dried treats (such as bully sticks or jerky) will tend to last longer than the fresher, high-value treats you use for training.
5 Tips To Keep Kibble As Safe As Possible
Use these 5 tips to make sure your dog is getting the best nutrition possible from his kibble.
Why Fats In Kibble Go Rancid Fast
The minute you open your dog’s bag of kibble, air gets in and the oxidation process begins. And every time you open the bag, the amount of oxidation increases, along with the health risks. The fats and oils in the food are very susceptible to oxidation … so every time you open the bag, the fat particles break down into smaller compounds such as malondialdehyde, (a marker of cancer risk), and the fat becomes rancid.
Here’s why you don’t want your dog to eat rancid fats.
So it’s very important to prevent your dog’s food from oxidation.
There are many types of fats and they’re divided into the number of carbon bonds they contain. And the more carbon bonds the fat contains, the more quickly it will oxidize.
The fats with the most bonds are DHA and EPA … the fats found in fish oils.
One of the most dangerous trends in the pet food industry today is adding fish oil to kibble. Fish oil is extremely unstable. So even if it’s not oxidized and rancid right after the kibble is made … it will become rancid extremely quickly once the bag is opened and your dog’s health will be at risk.
Never buy kibble with fish oil added. If you want to give your dog fish oil, buy it separately and add it to his diet. But never feed him a kibble with fish oil already in it. It’s highly likely to be rancid.
Pet food manufacturers know about the problems with oxidation. So they use antioxidants to slow down the rate of oxidation. They add antioxidants to your dog’s kibble in two forms:
Antioxidants can be natural or synthetic. And the type of antioxidant in your dog’s food really matters.
Synthetic antioxidants are a controversial addition to pet foods. Some better brands have stopped using them because of their impact on health. There are four common synthetic antioxidants in kibble.
How Long Does Dry Dog Food Last (5 Ways to Keep Dry Dog Food Fresh)
Admit it: You didn’t know dog food has an expiration date. It’s not like the dog food sits around for months—your four-legged, speed-eating champ makes sure of that—so does the expiration date really matter?
“It’s important for pet owners to note the expiration date on their dog food package to prevent feeding expired or soiled food to their dog,” explains Dr. Megan McCarthy, a veterinarian at the Best Friends Animal Society Lifesaving Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Expired dog food may have a loss in nutritional quality and may cause illness.”
Despite the importance of heeding the expiration date, more than 10 percent of pet owners never check the expiration dates on pet food packaging and 7 percent admitted to feeding their pets expired kibble, according to 2021 research (1).
Read the fine print: The expiration date on your dog food label is meant to be taken seriously.
The expiration date, which is often printed near the barcode on dog food packaging, is different from the “best by” or “sell by” dates, according to Dr. Oscar Chavez, a veterinarian and leader of the Canine Nutrition Team at JustFoodForDogs.
“[The] expiration date is the date the manufacturer recommends discarding the product,” he explains. “[The ‘best by’ and ‘sell by’ dates indicate] when the manufacturer recommends the food be sold and used by. This doesn’t ensure the food is fresh, only that it can still be sold and should not be spoiled.”
Different kinds of dog food have different expiration dates: Chavez notes that conventional kibble and wet dog foods can have a shelf life of up to two years; fresh frozen pet foods will last a few months in the freezer; and fresh ultra-processed pet foods will expire in a few weeks. All dog foods will go badly more quickly after the packaging is open, he adds.
Dry dog food does expire. Unopened, a bag of dry dog food can last up to two years, says Chavez. Once the bag is opened, it is only good for a few weeks.
“Kibble is ultra-processed pet food and contains preservatives designed to give it a longer shelf life,” Chavez says. “Most dry pet food will go bad at home well before its sell by date due to fats going rancid, bad handling and exposure to the elements. Assume a bag of dry food will go bad in a few weeks after it’s opened no matter what the expiration date is.”
Wet (canned) dog food also has an expiration date. An unopened can could have a shelf life as long as two years, depending on the manufacturer, but, once the top is popped, McCarthy notes that, even in the refrigerator, it will go bad quickly.
“After opening a can [of wet dog food], it should be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days,” she says. “If it’s left at room temperature, canned food should be disposed of after two hours.”
Moisture, heat and exposure to air can cause wet food to go rancid or allow bacteria and mold to grow. When wet food goes bad, it may have a foul odor, change in color or obvious mold growth—but McCarthy notes that those signs may not always be present, adding, “that is why it’s important to dispose of any opened canned food if not used within three days and any unopened canned food if past its expiration date.”
You might not need to look at the expiration date to know that a pet food is past its prime. Expired pet foods often smell off, leading your dog to turn up his nose at the food bowl—but he might be too food motivated to notice, so it’s important for the humans to pay attention.
“Just like our food, fresh food smells like food and bad food smells off,” Chavez says. “Dogs may notice before we do because they are more sensitive, so if your dog rejects his favorite meal, it might be bad.”
“Just like us, [dogs] can get sick [from eating expired dog food],” he explains. “In more severe cases, they can have vomiting, diarrhea and stop eating altogether.”
“If your pet recently consumed (within the last hour), your veterinarian may induce vomiting to prevent any issues with the expired food,” she says. “You can also monitor your dog for any signs of illness or stomach upset like vomiting and diarrhea, and contact your veterinarian if any concerns arise.”