Buying high quality cat food isn’t enough; you must take care of it to make sure it remains fresh for the longest time.
Much of the canned cat food’s freshness and nutritional profile depend on the way you store it. Cat food has a much shorter shelf life than human food. Wet food, in particular, tends to go bad very easily because of the high-water content.
If you live in a humid area where the temperature fluctuates all the time, canned cat food will get spoiled more easily. These 5 storage mistakes should always be avoided in order to preserve the freshness and nutritive value of the food.
Throwing away the original packaging
The packaging that canned foods come in has been designed to keep away the elements and preserve the freshness for the longest time.
When you keep the original packaging, you get to retain the product information, including expiry date, batch code, and barcode. These pieces of information are important to keep, particularly if there is a cat food recall.
Exposing the food to air
Even though canned cat food has a moisture content, they should not be exposed to air. In fact, even if the top seal of the can should be retained to prevent it from getting exposed to air.
The humidity in the air, high temperatures can affect the quality of the food and spoil and contaminate it.
Keeping food in direct sunlight
The labels on the cans always mention that it should be stored in a cool, dark place. This is because exposing it to sunlight will lead to humidity formation and rise in temperatures. Some of the ingredients in the food can also get spoiled in direct sunlight.
Follow what the label says and keep the canned cat food away from sunlight.
Using expired food
Regardless of whether the food has gone bad or not, cat food should not be kept past the expiry date. Expired food has every chance of getting spoiled, and the nutritional value also diminishes.
Mixing old and new food
Don’t transfer the contents of the half-empty can into a brand-new can. You could be contaminating the new can of food with the remains of the old can.
Proper storage makes canned cat food last till its expiry date. Before serving the food to your pet, always ascertain if it’s still good or if it has gone bad.