Storage conditions for pet food determine the preservation of its nutritional value and safety. Changes in the composition of compound feeds for non-productive animals during storage were studied at JSC "SPC "VNIIKP". Three types of compound feed were examined: one obtained by two-stage extrusion of wheat and fat, one obtained by single-stage extrusion of wheat, and a non-extruded loose compound feed (control). Experimental batches were packaged in four-layer paper bags and also stored in metal silos for four months. The air parameters during storage were as follows: in the autumn-winter period, a temperature of 279–291 K; in the spring-summer period, 291–298 K, with relative humidity ranging from 75 to 89 %. The moisture content of the batches at the time of loading into storage was within 9.2–10.8 % and changed insignificantly during storage, remaining within the limits set by the technical specifications. It was established that the content of crude protein and soluble carbohydrates and the in vitro starch digestibility remained virtually unchanged throughout the storage period, the observed fluctuations not exceeding the error of sampling and of the determination methods. The main changes in quality were associated with the accumulation of fat hydrolysis products and with microbial growth: in the non-extruded control, over four months of spring-summer storage, the acid number of fat increased from 27.80 to 86.27 mg KOH/g, bacterial contamination from 36 to 925 thousand per g, and fungal contamination from 365 to 8070 spores/g. In the extruded samples, the increase in these indicators was substantially lower, which indicates the higher storage stability of extruded compound feeds. It was shown that the intensity of these changes is greater in the spring-summer period, characterised by elevated air temperature and relative humidity.

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