Freeze-dried pet food is meat with nearly all the water taken out, so nothing can grow in it as long as it stays dry; what ends it is moisture creeping back in and the meat's fats oxidizing. A barrier pouch with an oxygen absorber, sealed tight, keeps it good for a year or more; an opened pouch pulls in moisture every time it's opened. In the example below, an Austin pet food maker's sealed pouches passed every test through day 480, and they say best by 360 days, a 25% margin. Below is what ends pet food's shelf life, how storage changes it, the study, the date on the pouch, and a free template.
The short version
- Freeze-dried pet food keeps while it stays dry.
- Moisture and oxygen end it: rancid fat, soft pieces.
- Barrier pouches with oxygen absorbers, sealed tight.
- Opened pouches pull in moisture; reseal them.
- Run a real-time study, with water activity at each pull.
- Print the date and a lot code; pet food is regulated food.
- TaroStack gives every batch its date from the shelf life you set. More below.
What ends its shelf life
| What ends it | What happens | What slows it |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture | Pieces soften; water activity rises toward where things grow | Barrier pouches; a tight seal; desiccant if needed |
| Rancidity | Fat oxidizes; smell turns off and pets refuse it | Oxygen absorbers; lean meat; cool storage |
| Light | Speeds oxidation | Opaque pouches |
| Opened pouches | Each opening lets in air and humidity | Zip closures; "Use within 30 days of opening" |
The license is in pet food license, and the plant's plan in pet food haccp plan.
How it's stored
| Stored | In the example's tests | On the label |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed barrier pouch with oxygen absorber | Passed every test through day 480 | Best by 1 year |
| Clear pouch without an absorber | Rancid smell by day 120 in a side study | Not used |
| Opened pouch, zipped | Not part of the study | "Use within 30 days of opening" |
The opened-pouch line is the maker's advice, cautious on purpose; a humid kitchen gets into a pouch fast.
An example: a shelf life study
Willow Creek Pet Co., the made-up pet food maker in Austin, Texas, I use in these examples, kept sealed 1-ounce pouches of freeze-dried chicken topper from one batch on a shelf and sent one to a lab at each pull:
| Test | Pass if | Day 0 | Day 120 | Day 240 | Day 360 | Day 480 | Day 600 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water activity | at most 0.3 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.19 | 0.2 | 0.21 | 0.24 |
| Rancid odor, 1 to 5 | at most 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Crispness score, 1 to 9 | at least 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 |
| Peroxide value, meq O2/kg fat | at most 10 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| All pass? | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail |
Everything passed through day 480; at day 600 the crispness fell below 6, a rancid note came through and the peroxide value passed the example's limit. Taking a 25% margin off day 480 gives 360 days, a year. How the pulls and margin are planned is in shelf life testing.
The date on the label
Pet food's date is a quality date, "Best by", with a lot code beside it; pet food is regulated like other food, and a lot code is how a recall finds the right pouches. The margins are in pet food business profit margin, and handing production to a plant in pet food co-packer.
Get the template
Download the pet food shelf life study template. One sheet: the product, the lot tested, the day it was made, how it's stored and the margin to leave; then each test with its limit and the result at each pull. It marks each pull pass or fail, finds the last day everything passed, takes the margin off, and gives the shelf life for the label and the date for a batch made today. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The study gives one date for one topper. Chicken, salmon and cat treats, batches every week, pouches at pet shops: someone has to date each batch and send the oldest pouches first, and know which shops got a lot if it ever comes back.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack gives every batch its date from the shelf life you set, and sends the oldest out first.
Dates from the shelf life. Each pet food carries its shelf life in days, and each batch's lot gets its production date and the date that follows from it.
First-expired-first-out. Orders take the oldest lots first by default, and a pet shop can be set to take only stock with enough days left.
What's coming up. A forecast shows what will expire unsold and what it costs, and anything thrown out is recorded with its reason, expired or spoiled, so waste shows by item.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The date on a batch | Worked out by hand | From the shelf life, on the lot |
| Which batch goes out first | Dates on tape | First-expired-first-out |
| Stock with enough days for a pet shop | Checked by hand | The customer's shelf-life rule |
| What expired last month | Not counted | Waste by reason |
Lots, dates, first-expired-first-out and the expiry forecast are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.