The search for natural preservatives in the gourmet dog treat baking world is huge. We have inquiries almost daily about what folks can do to help with their mold issue. We often have people asking if Citric Acid is a good “natural preservative” to use in their dog treats. While we are mainly focused on the dog treat decorating end of the business – we did get our start baking treats. And with that, we’d like to share with you some thoughts about the use of Citric Acid in natural / gourmet dog treats.
- Citic Acid Chemical Representation
Citric acid is a weak organic acid and is in fact considered a natural preservative. “That’s Great!” you must be thinking. Hold tight, it’s not all sunshine and butterflies. There is information out there indicating that Citric Acid may be associated with Gastric Bloat in dogs. That is NOT so great in our eyes.
In general, we take the perspective that if there is any question / possible concern about an ingredient – we recommend strongly that you not use it in your treats. “But what about my mold issue?” you may be asking. We understand that managing mold is probably one of your biggest quality issues. We also believe that there are other non chemical solutions to your issue that are probably better for dogs. Now, couple the fact that there are better alternatives to help you with your mold issue with the fact that Bloat is the #2 killer of dogs behind cancer – and we can’t think of any good reason to use citric acid.
Effectively dehydrating / lowing the amount of moisture in your treats is by far the best way and MOST NATURAL way to prevent mold issues. We aren’t sure why folks insist on adding unnecessary ingredients to their treats when a little more time in the oven / dehydrator would work wonders.
Soft treats. Now – yes, with soft treats, you can only lower the moisture but so much before your soft treat becomes a crunchy treat. The reality of soft treats is this – they are going to have a limited shelf life. Seriously, would you want to eat a cupcake or piece of cake that was 3 months old? Probably not. So why would you want your dog to eat that? If you are in the business of soft treats, we recomend that you implement some concepts into your business modle that will help manage this issue such as:
1. Education your buyers about the need for a shorter shelf life and the naturalness that they desire.
2. Establish a bake to order protocol that will meet your buyers needs and your end users needs. Offer weekly deliveries as a service that upholds your “baked fresh natural and gourmet” image.
Still want to use Citric Acid – well, we’d just ask that you read about Bloat in Dogs and make sure that you are choosing the best possible approach to providing healthy treats.
