Does dog food go bad?

[tro182]

I happened to be at tractor supply and they had 4 bags of different sized Taste of the Wild marked way down....bought $100 worth of food for $24. The best by date is this month or out of date right now. I am getting my pup next month and wanted to feed Taste of the Wild any ways. Does the best by date really mean a whole lot? I figured I am not out a lot if it make a difference.

[kninebirddog]

Yes dog food can go rancid and stale how you take care of it can keep it longer but anything now a days also has to have a sell by date on dried stuff like dog food i don't think it is as crucial like it is on fresh product like milk per say

if when you open it something doesn't smell right or look right be safe and toss it

[mcbosco]

And while we are on the topic, if you store in plastic, even food-grade plastic, wash it with hot water and white vinegar.

Oil and plastic love each other chemically and rancid oil in the surface of the plastic is just not good.

[Cajun Casey]

Yes, it can go "bad," but expiration dates usually have more to do with volatile ingredients losing their effectiveness. The manufacturer will not guarantee the food meets the lable after the expiration date. Schell and Kampeter have various coupons on their brand FB pages and sometimes through their individual product webpages. If you are concerned about cost, then choose a less expensive food. There are plenty of good ones out there and grain free isn't the be all, end all of canine nutrition.

[tro182]

Thanks for the advice...I guess a little common sense will go a long ways. I planned on feeding TOTW because I think it is a good food, I can actually get it from a local source, and only feeding one dog it will not be that expensive. There are lots of good foods out there but finding one close can be an issue and such a good deal I could not pass it up. I will leave it sealed in the bag and put it in the garage and open to see the quality when the pup gets here. Thanks again this forum is a great help!

[ezzy333]

Dog food stored in the original container in a cool dry environment will keep almost for ever. ll feeds are tested before being put on the market and the shelf life is determined by running the tests. The best by label is put on as a worst case senerio such as warm damp conditions. Keep the food in the cool dry area of your garage or an unheated shed in the winter and the coolest place you can find in the summer and it will be fine for months to come.

I think it is best to try and feed what you buy in at least ninety days in the summer. Practically all feed has a 6 months shelf life or more but the cold months could be considered bonus months. This doesn't mean you should buy a 6 months supply but just that it will still be Ok if stored properly.

Ezzy

[Cajun Casey]

By the way, TSC was probably credited for the short dated food by their sales rep, so they are double dipping on the money. Most food companies will credit memo retail for returned food and leave it on site for disposal. If you have a problem with it, the seller won't reimburse because of the expiration date, most times. Tacky, but true.

[ezzy333]

By the way, TSC was probably credited for the short dated food by their sales rep, so they are double dipping on the money. Most food companies will credit memo retail for returned food and leave it on site for disposal. If you have a problem with it, the seller won't reimburse because of the expiration date, most times. Tacky, but true.

I've never seen that happen till something is completely outdated. We would always take feed back and replace it.

Ezzy

[Cajun Casey]

I've never seen that happen till something is completely outdated. We would always take feed back and replace it.

Ezzy

We move upwards of five million in dog food a year. The distributors show up maybe every three months to process returns. They leave the disposal to us.

[ezzy333]

Things are different these days. I suppose with fuel so high it isn't worth their time and expense to get it back. Some companies used to do that if the feed was spoiled or something but other wise we couldn't afford to leave it and our insurance companies wouldn't allow us to leave it unless it was dumped out of our bags.

Ezzy

[kninebirddog]

at the feed store I used to work at years ago they would just take the label off the bags of food or they would black mark it EXP over the front of the package if it was expired and leave it for us to deal with. We didn't have very many bags over the years I worked there that would get close to EXP date but the few that did were some pretty low quality cheap bags of stuff..Made for good coyote bait