Food producers long ago discovered that their enemy was living food. It just does not behave itself. It has its own self-destruct mechanisms in the form of enzymes and microorganisms. That's what rotting and decaying is. It's a necessary part of nature. If things did not decompose, we would soon be buried in our own refuse.
Food processors found that if they killed food (destroyed its enzymes and killed microorganisms) by heating it, added preservatives, and then either dried it or kept it tightly sealed, they could create a shelf stable product. So, you see, food science, which should be a life science, is more like mortuary science.
In the preoccupation with food preservation, food scientists lost their way. Food is not about technology that can fool consumers into thinking dead embalmed food is the real thing. The best pet food is about life and health.
One way to preserve real foods that still contain living elements is to mimic their living form by replacing their skin with a package that protects them from the elements. That would not be a paper bag. Rocks and cardboard keep well in paper bags for a year, not highly nutritious foods. Food processors are not magicians. Something must give to make meat, eggs, milk, etc. last in a paper bag. What gives is nutrition. Health is, in effect, traded for shelf-life.
Look at the ingredient label on your pet food. There are grains, dairy products, meats, oils, fats, vitamins and minerals, all of which - unless they are altered significantly - deteriorate with time. You can't put a steak, yogurt, cheese, bread, vegetable oil and cereal in a paper bag and leave it in your cupboard for six months or a year and then find it suitable to eat.
Leaving such things exposed in this way for even a day is unwise. Real, nutritious foods are fragile, and easily deteriorate in the presence of oxygen, heat, and light.
To properly preserve fragile nutritional value, the best pet food must be carefully prepared from fresh whole ingredients, preserved with natural antioxidants, antimycotics, and antibacterials, and rapidly packaged in oxygen-free and light barrier packages. Smaller portion packing is best, and unused portions should be tightly sealed, then refrigerated or frozen.
Video: Big Cat Halloween
A celebration of Halloween, big cat style...
Thought for the day: To pet a domestic cat is to pet a tiger.
Phrase for the day: 'shelf-life' - the amount of time a food is considered safe for consumption by the manufacturer. Note that this is not a guarantee of nutritional value, or an indication that food degradation does not occur long before the expiration date. Always try to consume and feed natural foods as quickly as possible and refrigerate or freeze for long term storage no matter what the shelf-life promise is.
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