How to store air-dried dog treats: cupboard, not fridge

Air-dried dog treats live in the cupboard. Keep the bag sealed, somewhere cool, dry and out of the sun, reseal it after every use, and use it by the best-before date. No fridge is needed, and no preservative is doing the fridge's job instead. Drying is the preservation.

Why don't air-dried treats need a fridge?

Because the thing that spoils food is gone. Bacteria and moulds need water that's free for them to use — what food scientists call water activity. Fresh meat is full of it, which is why it goes off on the bench. Drying removes water until what's left is bound up in the tissue, out of reach, and the microbes can't get going.

A kangaroo jerky goes into the drying room as fresh meat and comes out with most of its water gone. Nothing is added to hold it there, which is why the label can say one word and the bag can sit in a cupboard for months.

How should you store an open bag?

Reseal it every time, with the air pushed out. Keep it in a cupboard away from the stove, kettle and dishwasher. Not the laundry, the car or the windowsill. Keep it out of the sun, which warms the bag and over time affects the fat in the meat.

The fridge can work against you. It's humid, and a bag that goes in and out collects condensation each time it warms up, which is exactly the moisture you're trying to keep out. Cool and dry beats cold and damp.

Best-before dates, and what if a bag gets damp?

Australian pet food labelling under AS 5812 asks for a best-before date and storage directions; ours carry both. Best-before is about quality: past it the treat may be drier or paler. Use it by the date, and once opened, finish it sooner rather than later, under the 10% rule, not by emptying the bag.

If a bag gets damp, don't feed from it. Pieces gone soft or tacky, a smell that isn't the clean smell of the meat, fuzzy patches, condensation inside the bag: any of those, and it goes in the bin. Pieces that have simply got harder are fine. Every product in the range follows the same rule.

Keep reading: What does 'naturally dried' mean on a dog treat? Our process, plainly · Air-dried vs dehydrated vs freeze-dried dog treats: the difference

Sources

• Pet Food Industry Association of Australia. AS 5812:2023 Manufacturing and marketing of pet food. pfiaa.com.au

Pudel · Reviewed September 2026 · Single-protein, naturally dried dog treats, made in Australia. General information, not veterinary advice.