What to do with 20 lbs of expired dog food?

We have a 23 lb unopened bag of pretty high-end grain-free dog kibble that expired June 2016. It was erroneously sent by chewy.com and fortunately I looked at the expiration before opening it. Called them, they apologized and immediately sent out a replacement and asked me to dispose of the expired dog food. Should I just toss it - is there anything that can be done with it? Or does dog kibble have a longer shelf life than the expiration dates indicate? Just curious what you would do. My default plan is to compost it!

Thanks.

I would toss it. I don't think a shelter would take it. I wouldn't compost it because of the meat content (thought you were not supposed to compost meat?).

I think i would email the company and find out how "hard" of a date it is. Is it a "use by" date, or a "best buy" date?
Dates are very conservative, most likely it's still good.

I'd call a shelter.

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Originally Posted by Mikey0709

I think i would email the company and find out how "hard" of a date it is. Is it a "use by" date, or a "best buy" date?
Dates are very conservative, most likely it's still good.

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Oh, good question. It's a "best by" date.

Hmm, a solid six months ago. If it was just a month or two, I'd probably use it. I'm guessing though, that the better quality the food, the less preservatives it has and the quicker it goes bad. Smelling it probably wouldn't help!

I would toss it. Especially grain free. It seems like that would break down even faster than grain (which has a longer shelf life generally). I would be concerned about mold and degraded nutrition. You could call the manufacturer and get their opinion though.

Alright folks, did some more research. Even if the first cup of dog food is ok, what I'm reading suggests that the nutrients and preservatives will start to break down after exposure to oxygen. It probably wouldn't make a dog sick but would not be providing much nutrition, at best. Tossing!

thanks all!

I love that you took the extra step to research. :cheerleader1:

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Originally Posted by rlu

I love that you took the extra step to research. :cheerleader1:

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I'm nothing if not a nerd. ;)