11/09/2026
🐾 LILLY’S FOODIE FRIDAY 🐾
How is kibble actually made, and what happens once the bag is opened?
Kibble is one of the most popular ways to feed our dogs. It is convenient, easy to portion and can provide a complete and balanced diet.
But how do the original ingredients become those small, dry biscuits?
Most kibble is produced using a process called extrusion.
The ingredients are ground into a fine mixture. Water and steam are added to create a dough, which is then pushed through an extruder using heat, pressure and mechanical force.
As the mixture leaves the machine, the sudden change in pressure causes it to expand. It is cut into pieces and dried to remove most of its moisture. Fats and flavourings may then be added to the surface to make it more appealing.
This process has some important benefits.
🐾 It destroys harmful bacteria
🐾 It makes starch much easier to digest
🐾 It creates a convenient, shelf-stable food
🐾 It allows manufacturers to provide consistent nutrition in each portion
But it also changes the original ingredients.
Think about vegetables cooked at home.
Lightly cooked vegetables may retain their colour, texture and much of their nutritional value. Boil them for too long and they become dull and mushy. Some heat-sensitive vitamins are damaged, while water-soluble nutrients can escape into the cooking water.
They are still vegetables, but they are not nutritionally identical to the ingredients you started with.
The same principle applies to dog food.
Grinding, heating, pressure and drying can improve the digestibility of some nutrients while reducing or changing others.
Heat can unfold proteins and make them easier to digest. But more intensive processing can also encourage the Maillard reaction, where proteins react with sugars.
This creates appealing flavours and aromas, but it may also make some essential amino acids, particularly lysine, less available to the dog.
Some heat-sensitive vitamins can be reduced during manufacturing too. Manufacturers account for expected losses when formulating the food and may add vitamins and minerals during or after production.
But the changes don’t necessarily stop when the kibble leaves the factory.
Once the bag is opened, oxygen reaches the food and the fats begin to oxidise. This happens gradually rather than the entire bag suddenly “going off” on a particular day.
Warmth, moisture, light and repeatedly exposing the food to air can make this happen more quickly. The surface fats and delicate fatty acids, including omega-3s, are particularly vulnerable.
For the best protection:
🐾 Buy a bag your dog can finish within roughly four to six weeks
🐾 Keep the kibble inside its original packaging
🐾 Squeeze out excess air and reseal the bag securely
🐾 Place the bag inside a clean, airtight container
🐾 Store it somewhere cool, dry and away from sunlight
🐾 Never continually top up old kibble with a new bag
The best-before date relates to food protected inside its unopened packaging. Once opened, how it is stored really matters.
This doesn’t mean that all kibble is poor quality. A well-formulated kibble can be safe, complete and highly digestible.
It simply means that the picture of fresh ingredients on the front of the bag is only the beginning of the story.
💬 How do you currently store your dog’s kibble, and roughly how long does one bag last after you open it? 🐾
