An Illinois federal court has dismissed part of a putative class action alleging that Champion Petfoods USA Inc. sold foods for animals that contained elevated levels of several heavy metals—including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead—as well as bisphenol A (BPA), pentobarbital, "non-regional and non-fresh ingredients, or unnatural or other ingredients that do not conform to the dog foods' packaging or advertising." Zarinebaf v. Champion Petfoods USA Inc., No. 18-6951 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., entered July 30, 2019). The court found that the plaintiffs were not alleging the dog foods to contain unsafe levels of the materials at issue; rather, the plaintiffs' claims were plausible because they alleged that the marketing led them to believe the products to be "healthy, natural and high-quality" but that a reasonable consumer would not have purchased the products knowing that they contained heavy metals and BPA. The court dismissed claims relying on the presence of…
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A New York federal court has dismissed a putative class action alleging that celebrity chef Rachael Ray's brand of dog food, Rachael Ray Nutrish, is misleadingly marketed as "natural" because it contains traces of pesticides. Parks v. Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, LLC, No. 18-6936 (S.D.N.Y., entered April 18, 2019). The court found that the plaintiff could not show that trace amounts of a pesticide would make the marketing of a "natural" product misleading. The plaintiff "asserts that the Products contain trace amounts of glyphosate, but not that the Products are composed of unnatural ingredients," the court found. "Moreover, Plaintiff does not set forth in his complaint the amount of glyphosate in the Products or whether that amount is harmful or innocuous. He argues that '[if] glyphosate is in the Products at any level . . . then the Products cannot be called 'Natural.'' [] But a reasonable consumer would not be…
A federal court in Washington will allow plaintiffs to amend a false advertising complaint alleging that their dogs became sick after eating pet food contaminated with pentobarbital, a drug used to euthanize animals. Mael v. Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co. Inc., No. 17-5469 (W.D. Wash., entered February 20, 2018). The complaint alleged that the plaintiffs’ dogs became ill after eating Evanger’s beef products and that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation found traces of pentobarbital in several of the company’s products. The plaintiffs allege that Evanger's falsely advertised the products as “human grade, USDA inspected meats,” although FDA reportedly found that none of the company’s products were USDA-inspected or human grade. After the FDA investigation, Evanger's recalled all of the products. Evanger's moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that plaintiffs referred to both recalled and non-recalled products. The court found that the plaintiff had failed to allege…
Blue Buffalo Pet Products faces a proposed class action alleging that three of its dog-food products contain unsafe levels of lead despite being advertised as “healthy” and “holistic.” Zakinov v. Blue Buffalo Pet Products, No. 17-1301 (S.D. Cal., filed June 26, 2017). The plaintiff, who asserts that his four-year-old dog died from kidney disease after eating “Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs,” “Blue Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs” and “Blue Basics Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs,” alleges that independent lab testing found the products contained between 140 and 840 parts per billion of lead. Claiming negligent misrepresentation, negligence per se and violations of California consumer protection laws, the plaintiff seeks class certification, injunctive relief, corrective advertising, restitution, disgorgement, damages and attorney’s fees. Issue 640
A consumer has filed a putative class action against the manufacturers of Rachael Ray’s dog foods, alleging that the products are labeled as “natural” despite containing artificial or synthetic chemicals. Grimm v. APN, Inc., No. 17-0356 (C.D. Cal., filed February 28, 2017). The plaintiff claims that she only bought the dog foods, sold under the Nutrish , Dish, Zero Grain and Just 6 labels, because they were labeled as natural and free of preservatives and would have purchased other products had she known the foods contained “artificial preservatives and unnatural ingredients.” The plaintiff alleges the defendant manufacturers “capitalized” on consumer preferences for natural food products. The product labels indicate that the dog foods contain L-ascorbyl-2 polyphosphate, menadione sodium bisulphate complex, thiamine mononitrate, and caramel color. For alleged negligent representation, violations of California’s Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law, breach of warranties and quasi-contract, the plaintiff is…
A new report from Cornucopia Institute, a “non-profit food/farm policy research group,” contends the “pet food industry is no different than leading marketers of processed human food when it comes to cheap substitutes and false health claims.” Titled “Decoding Pet Food: Adulteration, Toxic Ingredients, and the Best Choices for Your Companion Animals,” the report is accompanied by a product buying guide. See Cornucopia Institute News Release, November 18, 2015. Issue 585
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued guidance for industry about the agency’s “current thinking regarding the use of nanomaterials or the application of nanotechnology in food for animals.” According to FDA, the recommendations are intended to assist industry and other stakeholders identify potential safety or regulatory status issues. See Federal Register, August 5, 2015. Issue 574
In an appeal from a National Advertising Division investigation initiated by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel has recommended that Blue Buffalo Co. cease implying that other pet food manufacturers are “fooling” their customers on pet food nutrition. They found that the message of “fooling” was expressly or impliedly in several of Blue Buffalo’s advertisements without support. In addition, the NARB panel recommended that Blue Buffalo change its “True BLUE Test” chart on its website because it “reasonably conveyed the inaccurate message that the absence of checkmarks for a manufacturer meant that all of that manufacturer’s pet food products had specified ‘undesirable’ ingredients and none of that manufacturer’s pet food products has specified ‘desirable’ products.” The chart includes lines indicating that a brand’s products either always or never contain particular ingredients, and NARB found that the phrasing, though accurate, could imply inaccurate information to consumers. For…
Frank Magliato, “in his capacity as stockholder representative for the former shareholders of Natural Balance Pet Foods,” has reportedly filed a lawsuit against H.J. Heinz Co., alleging that the food company knowingly sold processed sheep lungs adulterated with rubber rings to Natural Balance. The complaint alleges that while Heinz knew both that the rubber rings had been lodged in internal organs of the sheep and that the rings could be hazardous to animals, the company did not alert Natural Balance or its customers to the potential danger. According to Magliato, Natural Balance recognized that the food was adulterated before selling the products, but had it not, Heinz’s negligence could have exposed the pet food company to litigation and damaged its reputation. Magliato seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, restitution and $400,000 in damages for strict products liability, breach of express and implied warranty, negligence, unfair business practices and fraud, as well…
Despite its seven-year investigation into jerky pet treats that may have killed more than 1,000 dogs and left thousands more ill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “has still not been able to identify a specific cause for the reported illnesses or deaths.” According to an FDA news release, as of May 1, 2014, the agency had received more than 4,800 complaints of illness in pets that ate jerky treats made of chicken, duck or sweet potato. In its ongoing efforts to find a cause for the illnesses, FDA has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a study to determine whether sick dogs eat more jerky treats than healthy dogs do. Studies of the jerky treats revealed the presence of the antiviral drug amantadine, but “FDA does not believe that amantadine contributed to the illnesses because the known side effects or adverse effects associated…
