Shelf-life of flake?

[Scienceman]

A LFS told me that once opened, a container of flake only had a shelf life a few months before the nutirent value decreased.

Is this founded and tested or another of those "personal opinions"

As flake is in a dried form, as long as it is kept away from excess moisture, I would have assumed that it would have at least a 6 - 12 month shelf life.

[trofius]

I kinda agree with you that it will last a while, althought as flake usually contains lots of additives such as vitamins etc , they do breakdown reasonably quick, ~ few months anyways, and as you mentioned it loves to go soggy if it is in humid conditions....never good...

I store mine in a fridge just to make sure, the flake in the fridge lasts way better than the stuff in the container in the fish room, I just scoop out some more from the bulk once a week..

[Ducksta]

I buy a couple kilos at a time and freeze it in manageable portions in snaplock bags (trying to squeeze out all the air)

If you don't believe it goes 'stale' quickly, just take a sniff of a container immediately after opening, and then again in a few months. The best way to do this is buy a container just before you use up your current stock and compare odours. I don't know scientifically what is happening but it is definately worth freezing IMO, the texture and smell stay good for much longer.

[Ash]

Think of fish food as dry cracker biscuits - you wouldn't leave them opened more than a month, would you?

[BaZ]

Think of fish food as dry cracker biscuits

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Yep my fish seem to prefer a bitey aged cheese with their flake

Seriously though, I agree that it goes stale. I've had food which tends to turn a bit soft and cardboard-like, rather than being crisp and crumbly. It doesn't smell as good either just like Duck found.