How do I store pet food so it stays safe?
Dry food goes rancid rather than mouldy, wet food has a short fridge life once opened, and raw food is a genuine kitchen hygiene issue rather than a theoretical one.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 3 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Keep dry food in its original bag, inside a sealed container, in a cool dark place — the bag has a fat barrier and the batch code you will need if there is a recall. Cover opened wet food and use it within a couple of days from the fridge. Treat raw food exactly like raw chicken: separate storage, separate utensils, hands and surfaces washed after every contact.
The most common storage mistake is decanting dry food out of its bag into a bin. The bag is engineered to keep fat from oxidising, and the fat is what carries the palatability and much of the nutritional value. Food that has gone rancid does not look or smell obviously wrong to a person but animals refuse it, which is why sudden fussiness so often follows a new storage container.
Safety
Step by step
- Keep dry food in the bag, inside the container.Roll the bag down and clip it, and put the whole bag into an airtight container. This preserves the fat barrier, keeps the batch code and best-before date with the food, and stops the container itself accumulating rancid residue.
- Store it cool, dark and dry.Heat and light accelerate fat oxidation. A cupboard indoors is better than a garage in summer, and a garage is better than a shed. Not on a sunny windowsill and not next to the boiler.
- Wash the container between bags.Fat residue on the walls goes rancid and contaminates the new food. Wash and dry thoroughly before refilling.
- Buy a bag size you will finish in a month or so.A large bag is cheaper per kilogram and worse if it takes three months to use. Once opened, dry food degrades steadily.
- Refrigerate opened wet food and cover it.A pouch or tin once opened is usually good for a day or two refrigerated and covered. Serve at room temperature — food straight from the fridge is refused far more often, and warming a little releases the aroma.
- Treat raw food as raw meat, because it is.Store frozen, defrost in the fridge in a sealed container on the bottom shelf, keep it physically separate from human food, use dedicated utensils and a dedicated board, and wash hands, bowls and surfaces after every contact. The FSA has published specific guidance after outbreaks linked to raw pet food.
- Do not leave food down all day in warm weather.Wet and raw food left out grows bacteria and attracts flies. Put it down, allow a reasonable time, then remove and wash the bowl.
- Wash bowls daily.Biofilm builds up in the scratches of plastic bowls in particular. Stainless steel or ceramic is easier to keep clean, and bowls should go through the dishwasher or be washed in hot soapy water every day.
- Keep it where the animal cannot reach it.A dog that gets into a bag of food can eat a genuinely dangerous quantity, and dried food swells. Store it behind a door, not on the floor of an open utility room.
- Keep the batch code until the bag is finished.Pet food recalls happen, and the batch code and best-before date are what you need. Keeping the bag means keeping both.
Questions people ask
Should I decant dry pet food into a container?
Keep it in its original bag and put the bag inside the container. The bag's liner slows fat oxidation, and it carries the batch code and best-before date you would need for a recall.
How long does opened wet food keep?
Usually a day or two, covered and refrigerated — check the packaging, which is specific to the product. Serve it at room temperature rather than fridge-cold.
Is raw pet food a risk to people?
Yes. Raw pet food regularly contains salmonella, listeria and campylobacter, and UK cases of human illness have been linked to it. Handle it with the same precautions as raw chicken and keep it separate from human food.