KEEPING THE BEST PET FOOD FRESH AND SAFE

A variety of natural substances can be effectively used as food preservatives. To protect the fragile amino acids, fats, oils, and fat soluble vitamins, oil-soluble forms of vitamin C, epimers of vitamin E, oleoresin extracts from herbs such as cloves, rosemary and sage, phosvitin found in egg yolks, capsaicin from chili peppers, citric acid from fruits, rice bran oil, ferulic acid from plants, beta carotene as found in richly colored plants, certain fruit components, and whey as found in milk products all can exert antioxidant protection for processed foods.

Note that all such preservatives are natural and effective. There is no need to use synthetic preservatives of questionable safety - although using them would be better than no preservatives at all.

In effect, by adding antioxidants we are trying to recreate the protective biochemistry that existed in the plant or animal before it was disassembled to create processed food. (Note: such pet food preservatives protect amino acids, fats, and oils from oxidation and rancidity, but not spoilage from other degradations such as insects, molds or bacteria.)

The best pet food is as fresh as possible. A good rule of thumb is: feed what spoils rapidly, but feed it before it does. Processed foods should be packaged in oxygen and light barrier packages and be preserved with natural antioxidants. But even these products should be consumed as soon as possible. Don't rely on shelf life promises. Certainly don't use foods beyond the expiration date. On the other hand, always use a food as soon as possible since real foods do degrade regardless of shelf life promises.

Refrigerate or freeze, in appropriate containers, any unused food that is going to be kept for any length of time. Do not fill a pet's food bowl and leave it out exposed to the heat, light, and air all day long. Use the same common sense you would use for what you eat.

Don't leave foods out. After your pet is finished eating, either compost the leftovers or put in an appropriate container and place in the freezer or refrigerator.

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Thought for the day: "In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." – Edward Hoagland

Phrase for the day: 'food spoiling (degradation)' - the natural process through which a food becomes increasingly less nutritious, unpalatable, and potentially dangerous. Heat, air (oxygen), light, and time accelerate the process. A good principle is to eat foods that spoil quickly, but eat them before they do.