Health Dogs? -- Wellshier Premium & Trader Joe's

Over a year ago, my wife returned from an excursion to Trader Joe’s with a pack of -----
Wellshire Farms -- The Premium Beef Franks. Its wrapper boasted: All Natural, Uncured Premium Beef Franks. No Nitrites or Nitrates Added, No Preservatives plus 40% Less Fat And 35% Less Calories.
They were packaged eight to the pound and looked normal enough. I gave them a try, even though past experiences with do good dogs have been disastrous. Yes, I expected lots of No’s in addition to those above: no taste, no bite, and no like.
To my surprise, they were fairly good in their own way. They had a fair to good garlic flavor, an adequate snap, and a nice aftertaste. I steamed most of them with sauerkraut and served them on heated New England rolls.

About ten months later, she again returned from Trader Joe’s with a different brand:
Trader Joe’s Best in Show Uncured Beef Hot Dogs ------ And I quote: Beef raised without antibiotics or hormones added. Fed a vegetable diet. --- No nitrites, nitrates or MSG.
Like the others, they were quite good in their own way.

I don’t expect ether brand (or were they one in the same?) to replace my normally eclectic dog diet. But, they were surprisingly good -- in their own way.

Does anyone have more information about these products?

An answer to my question:

On page 14 of the July/Aug. issue of Nutrition Action Health Letter is a short piece by Emily Poole – No Cure Needed.
It discusses Wellshire Farms uncured meats, which it points out, are lower in sodium because they are missing sodium nitrite which adds flavor and color to most lunchmeats. Because of this they have a shorter shelf life and must be kept below 40* F.
It further points out that Wellshire Farms and a similar outfit, Applegate Farms, supply Trader Joe’s and that both companies raise their animals w/o antibiotics. Antibiotics are fed to livestock to accelerate growth. Over use of antibiotics can make bacteria resistant to those drugs that are used to treat disease in humans.

At this writing, the July/Aug. issue on Nutrition Action is not yet available online.

A little off topic.

Yesterday I saw a vendor selling "Philly Cheese Dogs" ... I had to try one. It was a split grilled dog, on a bun slathered in cream cheese, piled way high with fried onions.

It was an unusual, but very good combination.

... now, on to healthier dog discussions ...