I am new to this forum. I noticed in the Dont's column that never microwave and never use aluminum foil to store dog food.

This is the first time my wife and I have ever seen these warnings. We have been Cocker Spaniel owners for 25 years and more. We feed our dogs natural chicken and liver and hamburger(all boiled to eliminate fats) mixed in with the kibble. We store the food in the freezer in aluminum foil packets then defrost in the refer before using.
Next we warm the pups food in the microwave for 10-12 seconds before serving.

The warnings posted were very vague not giving any reasoning for the warnings.
Can someone enlighten us as to why these 2 are not recommended?
Thanks!
Dan

Welcome to the forum!
Aluminum will corrode and leech into the food. Aluminum is linked to Alzheimers in people. Personally I do not use aluminum in contact with any food, mine or the dogs, because of the possible health risks.
I have seen one warning in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon that says that blood chemistry changes after eating microwaved food. Microwaving can also cause hot spots in the food, which an intelligent person should be able to manage.
Maybe there's something else I don't know about.

Hi Dan and welcome to the forum. I did not read the column you reference, but have read about the issues you mention WRT microwave and aluminum as a caution to humans. I'm just repeating what I have read - and I'm not even re-looking my sources right now - so this is "for whatever it's worth."

Apparently, aluminum foil, aluminum pans, etc. transfer small amounts of aluminum into our bodies (or in the case of your question, dog bodies). I've read on a number of health related sites that we should all avoid or eliminate the use of aluminum foil, aluminum cook ware, and even standard off the shelf deoderants that contain aluminum. In fact, if you go to a health food store or places like Trader Joes or Whole Foods, you can buy a variety of aluminum free deoderant brands. So somebody thinks there is something to this!

I have personally switched to an aluminum free deoderant (hope my friends thinks it works well!) and I cook in glass rather than aluminum pans wherever possible...etc.

I've also read in health related materials that people think microwaving alters the actual chemical makeup of food in a way that causes concern. I haven't tossed out the microwave just yet, but I do steam vegetables on the stove rather than steam in the microwave, and a few changes like that.

So...whether the aluminim and microwave concerns are over the top, or legitimate, it IS possible to make some simple changes to lessen their use....I put it in the "better to be safe than sorry" category myself - especially wear using some other product / method is simple.

2 cents...or maybe only a penny!

Beth

ETA: Debbie, we were posting at the same time. You do a better job than me of "making a long story short" and providing better details!

Also, we talk about not warming frozen raw food in the microwave because of the chance of cooking part of the bone (those hot spots), and we know that we don't want to give cooked bones.

About foil: I use it, but only if it won't actually touch the food (like a cover on a bowl that isn't filled to the top).

I used to use it, and then once, many years ago, right about when I started reading warnings, I saw that the acid in the tomato sauce on a pan of lasagna had eaten tiny black spots in the aluminum foil covering it, and the lasagna had tiny spots of shiny foil on its surface.

That was the end of using it with acidic foods..... and I figured I might as well just stop using it on any food and not wait for the next revelation.

 Quote: Dan Brot

I am new to this forum. I noticed in the Dont's column that never microwave and never use aluminum foil to store dog food.

.

I hope this is not a hijack, but where did you find the 'Dont's column'?

 Quote: Dan Brot

”We store the food in the freezer in aluminum foil packets then defrost in the refer before using.”

Hi Dan:
...And welcome!

As an alternative suggestion to foil; consider the purchase of a vacuum sealer, the Food Saver® brand being the most common in stores (but there are others just as good) which use special (sterile and reusable) plastic bags. They are very nifty devices.

Being around range cattle in my neck of the woods (literally), groups of friends often buy a whole animal and split the meat accordingly. With so much beef an effective storage means is vacuum sealing. The meat lasts for up to three (3) years in a freezer.

What’s more; I use canisters with my sealer to store bulk dog treats made in advance (bits of steak, hamburger balls, chicken bits, etc.), so they last more then twice as long as traditional food storage methods.

Investigate vacuum sealing and I believe you’ll be pleased with the results.

 Quote:

As an alternative suggestion to foil; consider the purchase of a vacuum sealer, the Food Saver® brand being the most common in stores (but there are others just as good) which use special (sterile and reusable) plastic bags. They are very nifty devices.

If you're not using it much, the Foodsaver is fine. But, if you use it a lot like I do, then you're throwing your money away. I went through 4 of them in the last 2 years. At $100+ a pop, that gets expensive quickly. Plus, the seal strip is weak, and will not seal a bag that has moisture in it, unless you freeze the contents after bagging, and then sealing.

If you're using it for game, sealing bulk foods from Costco, or sealing large amounts of raw diet stuff, go for something better. About the best thing you will find for the price is the Cabela's CG-15. It's $400. Buy the bags in rolls online, Cabela's only sells premade bags and they are expensive.

If I need to thaw out meat quickly I put it in a sink or big bowl full of cold to room temp water, this will thaw a doggie portion in about an hour, I make individual servings a lot of the time so that someone besides me can feed them, so i just drop the whole baggie down into the water.


We buy our beef free range 1/4 cow at a time if no one wants to split it with us.

Our small deep freeze came from the GE store and was a floor model with a tiny scratch for nearly 80& off. It will keep meat for well over a year if properly wrapped. Probably longer but we havent had it long enough to know!

I wore out our foodsaver about 6 months ago, but I was never impressed with it anyway, It tended to let in just enough air and moisture to cause freezer burn.

What I have been doing since, is patting the meat dry with a paper clean paper towel if its really bloody then wrapping it well with heavy duty freezer paper taping and putting it inside a freezer bag and again getting all the air out I can.

Everything seems to holding up well at this point.

Nora, The "Donts" is on this page:
http://leerburg.com/diet.htm
Proceed down the page to the "General Rules" feeding all-natural section, Item#3.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. As I stated, we only warm the food to take the "chill" off the food that came out of the refrig. 10-12 seconds time at the most. It appears there is allot of yeahs and nays about microwave usage but it deals with time cooking over a minute or more not warming.
Thanks One and All!
Dan

The aluminum foil issue has me worried. I called the USDA about it a few days ago after I read on the diet page baout the warning.They say that aluminum foil is very safe if used with non acidic foods and only moved from freezer to referig for few days at most.