# freezing kibble



## Elisabeth (Jul 18, 2011)

could you freeze the orijen 6 fisch or would that kill the probiotics? the big bags have a much better price per pound.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Hey that's a really good question. I'd never thought of freezing kibble, but it makes really good sense.
Hope someone knows the answer.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

HMMM....Waiting for some replies to


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## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

Here's some stuff I found with a quick search:
Probiotics and Cat, Dog, Pet Health. Microflora and the Gastrointestinal Tract. 
"Other conditions such as heat and sunlight can also kill probiotic microorganisms, even in the dry state. For the longest shelf life for any probiotic, keep tightly sealed and refrigerated. Dried forms may also be frozen once, but not repeatedly thawed and refrozen. Freezing can extend potency past the expiration date. Paste and liquid probiotics must be refrigerated, and cannot be frozen."

Natural & Premium Food : Probiotics
"Extreme weather conditions: for instance, freezing- less than 4 degrees Celsius or very hot- more than 40 degrees Celsius.
If Probiotics are exposed to UV radiations (sun light), they will be dead. "

Bacteriological evaluation of dog and cat diets that claim to contain probiotics
"Overall, commercial pet foods that claim to contain probiotics appear to contain very low numbers of viable organisms, and often do not contain the species listed on the label. Whether this relates to improper addition of organisms during processing, failure to survive processing, or poor viability during storage is unclear. Regardless of the contents of any diets containing lactic acid bacteria or bacilli, it is debatable as to whether they should be considered to contain probiotics without demonstration of species-specific efficacy... Results of this study indicate that these commercial diets are not good sources of probiotics."

Basically, freezeing can kill probiotics, but it doesn't matter anyways since most of the probiotics included in commercial foods either don't live or aren't even in there. The study didn't mention what brands they tested, but I have found the probiotics in the foods I have tried do not help any more than a food without them. If I want probiotics for some reason, like digestive upset or just for digestive support, I add in a human-grade kind I get at the grocery.

I don't really know about freezing kibble. I imagine it would help extent shelf life with minimal damage to nutrients. I did that with my rat's lab blocks (recommended by the manufacturer) some years ago and it worked fine. If you are really curious about it, I'd contact Orijen and ask.


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## Elisabeth (Jul 18, 2011)

Losech said:


> I don't really know about freezing kibble. I imagine it would help extent shelf life with minimal damage to nutrients. I did that with my rat's lab blocks (recommended by the manufacturer) some years ago and it worked fine. If you are really curious about it, I'd contact Orijen and ask.


thanks for your answer. i did ask orijen and they basically said that it would kill it, so i did some research to double check and i get either way, but mostley that it would kill the probiotics. and after reading your reply i guess the probiotics in kibble is questionable anyways. but hey, at least the food is still good, especially since the fish oils can go rancid.


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## Gus's Mom (Sep 12, 2012)

A member on a cat site I frequent said they like to portion cat food into ziplock bags then freeze it. To unthaw they layed a paper towel in the bag to soak up the moisture as it was thawing.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Don't quote me on this but I remember reading somewhere that the only probiotics worth their salt in pet foods are the genetically modified ones, the ones engineered in a lab somewhere. These products is supposed to withstand environmental damage to a certain degree. Not 100% up to speed on probiotics so please correct me if I remembered this wrong?
I am not a huge fan of adding foreign probiotic cultures in the first place. Prebiotics is different since it provides fuel for naturally occurring cultures.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

The "probiotics" in kibble are not actually probiotics but rather fermentation products and better described as enzymes. They are not live and even if they were they wouldn't colonize, but the fermentation products are helpful and aren't damaged by freezing.


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## sophiebonita (Aug 23, 2012)

This is a great question thanks for all the info everyone... I feed a tiny amt of kibble sometimes w my premade raw
so I go through it at a snails pace. I think I'll try this.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

monster'sdad said:


> The "probiotics" in kibble are not actually probiotics but rather fermentation products and better described as enzymes. They are not live and even if they were they wouldn't colonize, but the fermentation products are helpful and aren't damaged by freezing.


They wouldn't colonize because of the sometimes extreme low pH (towards 1 in extreme cases) in the stomach? Meaning they would never make it to a dogs GI tract alive? Do you know if any manufacturer add live strains after the fact?

Just trying to understand and learn this "dead enzymes" vs live strains. If these "dead" enzymes are provided in a steady stream (as in the case of feeding kibble) would the amount of these "dead" enzymes have the same action and effects (or some of the effects) as live cultures? If not what are the main purpose of adding them? Do they still convert sugar into lactic acid?

Do you consider these various Lactobacillus strains essential or beneficial in dog food?

Found this from PubMed


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## Elisabeth (Jul 18, 2011)

sophiebonita said:


> This is a great question thanks for all the info everyone... I feed a tiny amt of kibble sometimes w my premade raw
> so I go through it at a snails pace. I think I'll try this.


same here (snails pace, piper is only 11 pounds), except i feed PMR in the mornings and kibble at the afternoon. however, at the moment she's fed all raw until i decide which kibble to get. most likely it will be the orijen 6 fish though, since i already feed chicken, turkey, pork, beef and some leftover roadkill (elk). 

monters's dad - thanks for the info. it definitely helps make my decicion on buying the larger amount.

update: i went ahead and bought the 29.7 pound bag of orijen 6 fish from chewy's for only $61.19! i signed up for scheduled delievery, which can be postponed or cancelled anytime and also used coupon code JEN6124. the regular price would have been $79.99!


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

how about freezing the kibble and when it thaws add
a good probiotic to the meal before feeding.


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