The best way to store your dog's dry food is in its own sack, with the top tightly closed, placed inside a clean container with a lid, in a cool, dry place. It's what the FDA, the US food agency, recommends, and it's what works best with large sacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a large dog, a 15 kg sack lasts nearly a month, so it spends weeks open. The table of how much dry food a large dog eats a day<\/a> is in another post; here's how to make sure that dry food stays in good condition right to the last day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dry food spoils because of three things: heat, damp and air. According to the FDA, too much heat or moisture causes the nutrients in the food to break down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There's no need, and it's better not to. The FDA recommends keeping dry food in its original sack because it carries the batch number, the manufacturer and the best-before date, which is the information you need if there's a problem with the product or a recall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What works best is to fold the top of the sack down tightly, or close it with a clip, and put the whole sack inside a clean, dry container with a tight-fitting lid. The sack protects the food and the container keeps out air, damp and pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you'd rather empty the sack into the container, at least keep the label with the batch number and date, or take a photo of it on your phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a cool, dry, shaded place. The FDA sets the limit below 80 \u00b0F, about 27 \u00b0C, a temperature that can be exceeded in summer in garages and sheds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy does dry food spoil once it's opened?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Do you need to take the dry food out of the sack to store it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where should you store dry food: in the house, in the garage or on the smallholding?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n