Over the last few years, we’ve had a lot of inquiries about emergency food for pets, including commercially-made freeze dried pet foods. Although there are several very reputable, safe, and healthy freeze dried pet foods on the market, we’ve found commercially-available freeze dried pet foods have a very short shelf life, and they are also expensive. So what do we do about a long-term storage supply of emergency pet food for our beloved companions?
We have done a bit of research trying to locate a good source for pre-packaged emergency pet foods, but we have not yet found any long-term shelf life pet foods that we would feel comfortable feeding to our own pet companions. We’ll keep doing our research!
Commercial Dry Pet Foods (Kibble): Dry pet foods typically contain fats and oils which can go rancid over time, and not "dry" enough to avoid mold growth. Dry pet foods also have a high interstitial air volume due to the porous nature of "kibble" which will require extra oxygen absorbers for safe storage. Using Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers will extend the life of dry pet food, but it is important to continuously rotate your storage every couple of months (or until the expiration/use-by dates on the packages) to avoid mold growth. Your dry pet food should also be stored in a cool, dry place but this is still only a short-term solution.
Commercial Canned Pet Foods (Wet): Canned pet food does last longer than dry food (a year or two), but it is not always cost efficient and the cans will use up space in your food storage.
Commercial Freeze Dried Pet Foods: Have you considered creating your own long term emergency pet food storage with commercially available freeze dried foods? Freeze dried pet foods can be stored in our Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers for up to 25 years! If you are interested in creating your own emergency pet food storage, visit your local pet store or talk to your veterinarian to find out what brand of freeze dried food is best suited for your pet(s). We have several sizes of heavy-duty Mylar bags and Oxygen Absorbers in stock and ready for you to create your own stockpile of emergency food for your pets (we do not recommend using any Mylar bags less than 4.3 mil, as they will not effectively preserve your food for long term storage).
Homemade Pet Foods: There is an alternative to commercially-made pet foods for daily use as well as for emergency storage: Make Your Own Long Term Freeze Dried Pet Foods with a Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer! Not only can you create long shelf life healthy foods for yourself, but for your furry love bug companions as well! A storage life of up to 25 years for home freeze dried foods for yourself and for your pets can be quite appealing, especially because you created the food. You know the ingredients. You are able to avoid any ingredients you don't wish to include in your recipes. Home freeze drying really does have many positive advantages!
Pets are family. Give them the nutrition they deserve! With a Harvest Right home freeze dryer, you can feed your pets the healthy, preservative-free, home-prepared food they deserve and crave. There are many reasons to feed your pet home freeze-dried food.
