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Freedom
From Illness:
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| Volume 23, Issue 3 | |||||
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Welcome to the Freedom From Illness
wholistic newsletter from Russell Louie and Margaret Auld-Louie at Optimum
Choices. To receive this newsletter by e-mail or to unsubscribe, see the footer
at the very bottom. Read our newsletter article below and review our newsletter archives on how you and your pet(s) can approach Freedom From Illness. Newsletter NewsWe apologize for not publishing newsletters more frequently. Here are the reasons why:
Contents Sale
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Reading Labels Is Not Enough
We used to believe reading the ingredients on a pet food
This year, a raw pet food company was called out by the FDA for pathogen contamination violations. This is something you would not know by just reading their labels. The company had positive tests for pathogens in 49 products during August 2021, an actual recall of food in July 2022 and another violation in August 2022. What does this track record tell us? The company was aware its safety program was broken in August 2021, they did not take adequate corrective measures forcing an actual food recall in July 2022 and still didn't take enough corrective steps to eliminate another violation one year later in August 2022.
Yes, raw food has its risks. We suspected a bag of frozen raw food caused digestive upset in our cat
after the first feeding. The company stood behind their reputation and
said to take it back to the retail store for a full refund or exchange.
Another time
Feeding raw food has its risks but we believe by taking certain precautions (like examining the state/quality of each new bag, feeding freeze-dried or flash-heated raw food) the benefits of feeding raw food outweigh the disadvantages later in life. Margaret researched the pet food companies we buy from to make sure their practices meet our high holistic standards and we agree with the company's philosophy and integrity. Margaret approves of frozen raw sliders from smallbatchcat, for our senior cat, Simba. smallbatchcat raw food is from humanely raised, grass-fed animals, non-GMO, with supplements added from whole food sources. We buy smallbatchcat frozen raw food locally to support locally-owned stores. We feed our dog smallbatchdog freeze-dried raw food with the same holistic attributes as their cat food. We do not feed our dog, Lily, raw frozen food yet because she contracted a sensitive digestive tract from vaccinosis after her third-year round of vaccines, given all (3) at the same time. We also feed our senior cat canned Instinctive Choice from Life's Abundance for variety, in addition to raw frozen food. Life's Abundance has been in business since 1998 (25+ years). Life's Abundance is a certified Evergreen company, meaning they plan for the future (100+ years out!), which includes the highest standards for safety and quality — not just making a larger profit margin. They have a quick, efficient, and effective recall system, which they have never had to use. They are a privately-held, employee-owned company that does not have to maximize their bottom line to appease only shareholders. They care about your 4-legged children like members of their family, as does Optimum Choices.
When buying pet food, think about more
than just cheapest price. Research the quality standards each company
uses and evaluate their integrity in following through with what they
advertise. At Optimum Choices, we have done all this holistic research
for you. While there are always cheaper
Thank you for your continued patronage and trust in our wholistic
research for life (Discount Code = 4LIFE). |
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New Website-please
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E-mail:
info@OptimumChoices.com
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Russell is still recovering from his
concussion. The resultant
label
was good enough. We even published a report entitled
Margaret
noticed the prepared meat medallions were all stuck together in the bag
upon opening.
She contacted the company before feeding it to our cat and was told this might indicate the frozen
food had once been thawed in the delivery cycle, causing the medallions to become stuck
together in the bag in a thawed state. Again, the company told her to take the bag
back to the store for a full refund or exchange, to be sure it was safe.
FYI, raw chicken pet food is the most likely flavor to be contaminated
because of the unsanitary and sometimes inhumane conditions for
factory-farmed poultry. We have not had another incident like these
since, so we continue to buy the same brand of food because of how they
stand behind their company's integrity and their excellent customer
service. 
