Is Your Dog Eating Only Safe and Properly Stored Pet Food?

Not a few dog lovers are just too willing to share everything with their pets especially food, but without first checking if they’re safe for canine consumption. Besides, every year, there’s a long list of dog food recalls as results of common
bacterial adulterants. The contaminants were discovered as originating from a manufacturer’s production and storage facilities.

Actually, bacteria from raw meat, undercooked poultry and shellfish, as well as unpasteurized milk, can cause cross-contamination. Improper handling and storage of dog food are the most common reasons. In recent years, even fruits and vegetables have also shown to have toxic ingredients proven unsafe for dogs.

How to Always Keep Pet Food Safe

The first step to making pet foods safe is to read feedback and reviews about the commercially produced-pet food you are buying.

Make it a habit to constantly check the latest list of pet food products recalled by manufacturers. Discoveries of toxicity and contaminants usually take place after the pet food has been identified as carriers of disease causing microorganisms. Other causes of pet food recalls are discoveries of foreign objects like plastics or metals in pet food silos, while still in the process of manufacturing and packaging.

Check on your own household’s food handling and storage habits as well. Some family members might not be as safety-conscious when it comes to handling pet food.

As much as possible, limit the access of stored pet food and treats to responsible adult members who practice proper food handling. Aside from following storage and handling instructions, proper handling includes not using the dog’s feeding bowl to scoop food out of a storage bin.

Make certain that pet food storage bins are kept in a cabinet that does not contain human food and are out of reach of children.

It’s also important to use the best dog food storage container because certain factors can affect the freshness of stored food. High humidity for one, can cause bacterial development inside the container, even with high quality pet food. The kind of dog food keepers that are highly recommended are the airtight containers because they have seals to prevent air from infiltrating.

Air as we all know it, can become moisture under certain conditions. If so, they will activate microorganisms that can cause the stored pet food to turn rancid and no longer suitable for pet consumption. If your animal knows better, it will refuse to eat spoiled pet food; but if not, the bacteria or mould that contaminated the food will make your dog sick.

Another matter to check when reading reviews about animal food containers are the sizes. A food keeper that is too big or too small can also affect the airtight quality of the container.