A smart, attentive to details independent pet store owner alerted us to a potential problem. Pet food bags with patterns of tiny holes down the side of the bags (not in plain site). So we went to a pet food store to look for the holes.
They are not easy to see, depending on the color of the bag. But we found them, along the side panel of many pet foods. (These were found on dry pet foods.)
Some bags had small sections of tiny holes, while other bags had large sections of the tiny holes.
And this bag had a different pattern.
We did some research, and found NO press release issued by any pet food manufacturer explaining the reasoning behind the holes in pet food packaging.
But we did find information from a pet food packaging supplier which states the holes are an “air release system“. The term used was “Micro-Perforations” explained as “A series of tiny holes strategically placed on the bag allows trapped air to escape the bag during the palletization process.”
We squeezed several bags, and could easily tell air was being expelled through the holes.
So many questions…
Do the holes allow air to enter the bags, potentially causing the food to expire sooner (lose nutritional value)? or cause fats in the pet foods to become rancid?
Has nutritional content of these foods with ‘micro-perforations’ been tested to assure the shelf life stated on the bags is accurate?
The pet store owner that alerted us to this issue also noticed the area of the bag with the micro-perforations tear easily. She tested the durability of the bag in the section of the holes and they opened up with light pressure.
Why has – to our knowledge – no pet food manufacturer explained the micro-perforations in pet food bags to consumers or provided any laboratory evidence that the tiny holes do not cause nutritional deterioration?
Pet owners deserve some answers.
Check your pet food bag for these tiny holes. We found them most commonly along the top part of a side panel, typically only along one side. If your pet’s food contains the micro-perforations, email the manufacturer asking for the scientific evidence (testing they have performed) that the food meets nutritional requirements through the best-by date.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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MARSHA L HIX
June 12, 2024 at 11:39 am
Wish you would list the bags you found them Susan.
Madeleine Innocent
June 12, 2024 at 7:18 pm
There’s little nutrition in dry ‘food’ for starters.
Bob Cauler
June 13, 2024 at 8:25 am
These holes have been used for a few years, apparently..I went to a food seminar a few years back, and the CEO of annamaet pet food gave a kind of BS explanation of how the holes help the food stay fresh, etc. I didn’t buy his explanation. When air (oxygen) is introduced to food, it begins to oxidize that item, and causes premature spoilage. My opinion is that manufacturers of pet food want to pack as much food on a pallet as possible for shipping purposes, but they are too cheap to buy a vacuum packaging machine which would allow more packages on a pallet, and give the very positve benefit of sealing out air from the food.
Sarah
June 22, 2024 at 9:22 pm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9032186/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214289421000491
https://medium.com/@packagingproau/the-eco-friendly-bags-for-packaging-enhancing-shelf-life-with-micro-perforated-bags-a7a1e6631c0e
I think perforations, whether micro or macro, are found all over all the food industries. I mean it seems to be the most critical to fruits and vegetables, but the principles behind it still apply even to drier products like rice and cereal, even packaging for sugar and flour has microperforations. He’s likely technically not wrong, maybe just didn’t elaborate on the principle behind it in his presentation?
Lorraine
June 13, 2024 at 9:11 am
My opinion is if air can come out the hole then air can go in through the hold. Doesn’t this go against long held believe that kibble bags were made special to keep the kibble from being exposed to air? People have always been told not to store the kibble in anything other than the bag it came in and never store the kibble inside a bin. According to Purina – How to Store Dry Dog Food
“”The bag that holds your dog’s dry food is more than a pretty package. It’s also designed to be an effective container to protect your dog’s food from pests, contaminants and nutritional breakdown.
For effective storage of dry dog food:
Keep dry food in the original bag. Squeeze out any extra air and seal it tightly using a secure clip.””
April
June 13, 2024 at 4:22 pm
I noticed them before, but I thought my cat had make marks in them now I’m noticing them everywhere on different bags of food by different companies as well.
Karen Kotash
June 15, 2024 at 6:45 pm
And what filth is now getting into the bag contaminating the food?