Storing Harrison's Bird Foods

Follow these simple guidelines to make sure your bird is getting a fresh food experience!
Please see below for further line by line detail.

Smell the product for freshness prior to feeding.
Please check to see if food is within date (printed on bag). Food should smell "farm fresh" or like fresh grains.

Squeeze all air out of the bag and zip it shut at the top.
Removal of air from bag is critical as it is oxygen and moisture that fuels the breakdown (going stale) of grain based foods.

If the zip lock gets removed or damaged, fold the top over several times and close with a clip.
Unless you're feeding birds in outer space or high atop a mountain, the air pressure inside and outside the bag should relatively be equal. This means air will not "push" its way thru a tightly rolled-down bag - so if the zipper fails, rolling-down and firmly clipping will equally work to keep contents fresh.

Keep food in original bag. Do not repackage into plastic bags or containers.
The foil-lined Harrison's bag is the best measure to keep contents fresh. Oxygen, the main offender in grain spoilage passes through plastic (bags, Tupperware etc). It does not pass through foil. Light can also damage nutrients. The foil liner blocks light as well.

Use contents within 8 weeks of opening bag.
This is regardless of printed dating on bag. If a bag is opened for use on Jan. 1, contents should be used up prior to Feb. 26. It may be handy to make a note right on the bag indicating what date the bag was opened.

Purchase Harrison’s foods only in their original packaging.
We do occasionally encounter instances of repackaged food for resale. It is impossible to qualify freshness, dating etc. of these foods if they have been repackaged. Subsequently, Harrison's cannot honor claims arising from foods that have been repackaged.
Purchase Harrison's only in the original Harrison's bag.

Refrigeration or freezing helps maintain freshness.
Refrigeration and/or freezing the foods typically slows the breakdown process of the ingredients. All above recommendations still apply to food that is refrigerated or frozen.
Never store Harrison's in warm/hot areas or in direct sunlight.

Bugs!
Bugs LOVE certified organic grains and they will find their way into any (even partially) opened bag. Some bugs will bore through a bag to access contents. Don't store Harrison's next to bird seed in the pantry. To be certain you are not attracting bugs - store all of your grain based bird foods in the freezer.