Hi beaglemom –
IMO – frozen is preferable to freeze-dried because it has undergone less processing. Each process a food goes through is just more nutrients lost. Fresh raw would be ideal, followed by frozen, followed by frozen HPP or freeze-dried non-HPP, followed by freeze-dried HPP, followed by dehydrated raw, etc. etc. You want to feed the least processed choice you can. Freeze-dried will also cost a lot more to feed than frozen or fresh raw. Many of the freeze-dried formulas are HPP (high pressure processed) – including Nature’s Variety, Stella & Chewy’s and many of Primal’s varieties. HPP is a process in which the food is put under extreme pressure to kill bacteria – however proteins and enzymes are denatured, some nutrients are lost and the “good” bacteria is destroyed as well. I prefer non-HPP – fresh or frozen.
