| If you buy dry dog food or cat food in bags, you | | | | bead on its surface, which is even worse. |
| may have noticed that certain products are | | | | New packaging is becoming available for pet food |
| packaged differently from others. Some bags are | | | | storage that seems to excel in these respects. |
| simply paper, inside and out. Others have a thin | | | | So-called "barrier packaging" is already familiar to |
| plastic lining on the inside. Finally, some pet food | | | | you- coffee bags, for instance, are made of this |
| can be found in thick, all-plastic packaging. Though | | | | material. It is effective in preventing moisture |
| the differences may seem negligible, the type of | | | | from seeping into its contents, preserving the |
| packaging does affect both the shelf life of pet | | | | freshness of foods. One barrier packaging |
| food, and the way your pet experiences the | | | | manufacturer conducted tests on pet foods kept |
| food. | | | | in various forms of storage over time, evaluating |
| The primary concern in pet food storage is the | | | | three factors: palatability (a fancy word for |
| management of moisture. Apart from heat, | | | | tastiness), nutritional content, and rancidity (how |
| moisture is the easiest way to cause the quality | | | | much of the fat had gone bad). These studies |
| of stored pet food to degrade. It both provides | | | | seemed to show that barrier packaging prevented |
| oxygen, which causes fats in the food to become | | | | oxidation from ruining food, retained nutrients |
| rancid, and makes the environment more | | | | better, and were preferred by dogs over food |
| bacteria-friendly. Various types of packaging are | | | | stored in other conditions. This was true even for |
| designed to prevent pet food from absorbing | | | | food stored in barrier packaging without the use |
| moisture from the outside environment. Paper | | | | of preservatives- the packaging alone was able to |
| alone, as one would imagine, is the poorest in this | | | | replace the chemical additives. This makes barrier |
| respect. The plastic-lined (polypropylene) varieties | | | | packaging an exciting development for consumers |
| are better at preventing moisture absorption, but | | | | who desire products that are not chemically |
| if not perforated, can cause internal moisture to | | | | treated. |