dry food expiration dates

• dry food expiration dates Shelley75 Posted : 4/11/2007 11:34:53 AM I bought a bag of dog food from pet food direct and received it today.  The expiration date is September of 2007.  That's in 5 months.  I bought the small bag, 8LB bag.  I won't go through half that bag in 5 months.    My question is, is this a too soon expiration date or is this a reasonable date?  I thought that expiration dates are at least a year from the date bought.    So for $16.99 for an 8LB. bag, a total of $23 including shipping, I will be throwing away food once this expires.    Opinions please. LIKE 15 REPLIES 1897 VIEWS LAST POST JENNIE_C_D Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Gizmo83036 Posted : 4/11/2007 11:46:50 AM i would throw away a bag that had been open for 5 months regardless of the expiration date 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Shelley75 Posted : 4/11/2007 11:51:35 AM How long would you keep the bag open for? 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Luvntzus Posted : 4/11/2007 11:53:47 AM ORIGINAL: Gizmo83036 i would throw away a bag that had been open for 5 months regardless of the expiration date I agree. I'm pretty sure the expiration date is for when the bag is sealed. After it's been exposed to oxygen and light I think it goes bad much more quickly. I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding a bag that had been open for more than a month or two to be honest. Btw, your dog must be tiny... I need pics! [] 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• KCSO Posted : 4/11/2007 11:56:59 AM I dont think its unreasonable for them to sell a bag with 5 months left.  Cant really speak to how far off the exp date may have been versus the date it was originally made as I suppose that varies a lot from brand to brand (and might not be labeled or known).  I think the majority of pet owners could finish a bag in 5 months.   I wouldnt think that if the food is ok to feed on Aug 31 it will suddenly change on Sept 1.  I'd actually be more concerned about the effects of the storage container being opened/closed for 5 months than hitting a magical date.  If the expiration date were beyond Sept. would you keep using the same container for 10 months?  Do you freeze portions of it?   If the wastefulness bothers you I'm sure the birds would love it! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• spotty Posted : 4/11/2007 11:59:45 AM If I just ordered it, I'd call customer service and ask for a replacement. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Luvntzus Posted : 4/11/2007 12:13:15 PM ORIGINAL: spotty If I just ordered it, I'd call customer service and ask for a replacement. I don't think that's reasonable... the product isn't expired and won't be for another 5 months. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Shohin Posted : 4/11/2007 12:33:42 PM Holy crap . . . less than 8 lbs of food in 5 months!!  WOW you must have a TINY little dog!!! Around here, we go through about 8 lbs. a week! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Shelley75 Posted : 4/11/2007 12:34:31 PM Okay, so no matter what after 2 months maybe I will disregard the unused food.  I didn't know that after so many months regardless of the expiration date, the food will lose some of the nutrients.  Next time, I will buy a couple of the 1.5 LB. bags.    Luvntzus,   I have a cocker spaniel.  He's not tiny at all!  LOL!  32 LBS.  But I'm only feeding dry as a snack before bed.  He gets NB duck and potato wet cans during the day.  I would love to be able to post pictures, but I have no idea how.  My sister has a maltese, he is tiny, only 10 LBS.  We live together, and the dogs get along well.  Do you have a maltese?  Can't tell exactly by the picture. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Luvntzus Posted : 4/11/2007 12:41:14 PM ORIGINAL: Shelley75 Luvntzus, I have a cocker spaniel.  He's not tiny at all!  LOL!  32 LBS.  But I'm only feeding dry as a snack before bed.  He gets NB duck and potato wet cans during the day.  I would love to be able to post pictures, but I have no idea how.  My sister has a maltese, he is tiny, only 10 LBS.  We live together, and the dogs get along well.  Do you have a maltese?  Can't tell exactly by the picture. Ahhh, okay, the dry as a snack before bedtime explains it. lol [] My dog is a Shih Tzu, he's 11 pounds so about the size of your sister's Maltese. As far as posting pictures, if you have any pics on your computer, what you need to do is host them somewhere. You can just create a free account somewhere like photobucket.com. Then upload the pic there and copy and past the img code here in the reply area. There are a couple of other sites to host pics, like tinypic, but I think photobucket is the best. Hope that helps! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Gizmo83036 Posted : 4/11/2007 12:43:59 PM ORIGINAL: Shelley75 How long would you keep the bag open for? a month or up to 3 if packaged in small batches and stored in the freezer 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• JoAnnDe Posted : 4/11/2007 4:57:48 PM Yep - this is my problem also.   Prancer only gets 1/4 cup of dry a day for training / treats.  The rest of her food is canned (I was convinced that its better to feed canned - its less processed).   I was told that once the bag is opened that it has a 2 month shelf life - 3 if its kept airtight.   I throw away alot of food which makes me feel SOOOOOOOOOOOO guilty !   I'd be willing to pay the same price for half the amt if it were sold in small bags (I'm thinking 4 cup bags ! LOL).   Next time I buy a bag I'm going to freeze some of it so that I can use more of it before having to toss it. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• jennie_c_d Posted : 4/11/2007 5:30:48 PM Pour some of the food into gallon sized ziplock bags, and put it into the freezer. As far as I can tell, it lasts forever, that way. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• hank fang Posted : 4/11/2007 10:56:55 PM For what it's worth, I keep my Eagle Pack in a large 'air tight' Tupperware container, you can definitely tell the consistency is different than a freshly opened bag. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Hunterwayit Posted : 4/11/2007 11:54:58 PM I work in a bulk food company and we deal with pet food as well, A sealed bag should be fine a year after it's expiry won't be as good as a year before but will be eatable. But in saying that would use it as fast as possible or as others have said in an airtight container. Expiry dates are a law thing but most of the foods we deal with here are fine after their expiry date and that counts for dog food I always get the expired stuff here and my dog is fine so far hehe 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login