A federal  district in New Jersey has preliminarily approved a $24 million settlement of class action lawsuits brought against five pet food companies.

The lawsuits were filed because of the deaths of approximately 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs from food contaminated by melamine in wheat gluten imported from China. Click here for more on criminal charges filed as a result of the manufacture and distribution of the tainted pet food.

Menu Foods was the importer and initial distributor of the tainted wheat gluten that led to the recall last year of more than 180 brands of pet food.   Click here for details of the settlement.

Another Lawsuit Challenges the Pet Food Industry

Plaintiff Pet owners from across the country are now attempting to obtain class certification in a case pending in the federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  The case is entitled, "Blaszkowski, et al., v. Mars, Inc, et al." The plaintiffs represented by Catherine McIvor are pursuing claims of false and deceptive advertising  as well as fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment, violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties,  strict liability, and unjust enrichment.

The defendants include Mars, Inc., Proctor and Gamble Co., Colgate Palmolive Company, Del Monte Foods, Co., and Nestle U.S.A. Inc.. In a press release plaintiffs say, "These manufacturers have a combined approximate 70% of the market share in the $16 billion dollar a year pet food industry."

Other defendants are Nutro Products, Inc., Natura Products, Inc.; Menu Foods, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Target Corp., Publix Supermarkets, Inc., New Albertson's, Inc.; ALbertson's LLC, the Kroger Co. of Ohio, PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., Pet Supermarket,Inc., Pet Supplies Plus/USA, Inc.; and Petsmart Inc.

The plaintiffs seek damages including punitive damages and injunctive relief.

A list of the pet food manufactured or sold by these defendants is at the end of this article.

U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga has already denied a motion by some of the defendants  to dismiss the lawsuit. The defendant pet food companies basically claim the Association of American Feed Control officials and U.S. FDA sanctions their use of words like "complete and balanced," "veterinarian recommended" and "natural" in advertising.  The defendants claim there is no basis for the plaintiffs' allegations which they claim are taken from the internet.

Judge Altonaga disagreed, stating, "Defendants do not assert that the FDA or any other regulatory body has specifically approved the advertisement or statements at issue in this action, and nothing in the AAFCO standards authorizes defendants to engage in false advertising."

In their press release the Plaintiffs say that "these companies have spent $300 million a year in making false and misleading marketing statements regarding the contents of their pet food to the dog and cat loving American public. While these Defendants tout their pet food products as choice cuts of prime beef, chunks of chicken, fish, fresh wholesome vegetables and whole grains to induce consumers to buy them, ...the food is actually made from "inedible" slaughterhouse waste products of the human food chain such as spines, heads, tails, hooves, hair, and blood. Rendering companies who process this waste have also added other inedible 'waste' such as euthanized cats and dogs from veterinarian offices and animal shelters, road kill, zoo animals, rancid restaurant grease, toxic chemicals and additives. Additionally, dead animals and those declared unfit for human consumption due to disease and illness are also placed in the mix."

In their Complaint the plaintiffs point out the numerous serious recalls of pet food in the past several years. 

They say, "[h]ealth problems associated with commercial pet food include urinary tract disease, kidney disease, dental disease, obesity, diabetes, chronic digestive problems, bloat, heart disease, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and bovine spongiform encephelopethy ('BSE') or 'mad cow' disease.... The rampant problems with the Defendant[s'] lack of quality control and traceability of ingredients, among other things, has lead to the illness and deaths of thousands of cats and dogs."

Click here for a copy of the Complaint and a look at plaintiff's exhibits and other evidence.

This litigation is clearly about more than melamine; it challenges the pet food industry as a whole and the way that industry is making money off the garbage it is packaging and selling to consumers as food for animals.  

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Pet foods sold by defendants in the Florida litigation: Pedigree(R), Sheba(R),
Goodlife Recipe(R), Royal Canine, Iams(R), Eukanuba(R), Science Diet(R), Prescription Diet(R), 9 Lives(R), Amore(R), Gravy Train(R), Kibbles-n-Bits(R) and Nature's Recipe(R), Snausages(R), Milk Bone(R), Pup-Peroni(R), Meaty Bone(R), Canine's Carry Outs(R), Jerky Treats(R), Wagwells(R), Alpo(R), Beneful(R), Beggin' Strips(R), Dog, Cat, Puppy and Kitten Chow(R), Fancy Feast(R), Friskies(R), Mighty Dog(R), Deli-Cat(R), Pro Plan(R), Purina One(R), Natural Choice(R) Dog and Cat Products, Max(R) Dog Products, Max(R) Cat
Gourmet Classics, Natural Choice(R) Complete Care(R) for cats, UltraTM Products for dogs, Americas Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Award, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Cadillac, Companion, Compliments, Demoulus Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Food Town, Giant Companion, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, J.E. Mondou, Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Medi-Cal, Meijer's Main Choice, Mighty Dog Pouch, Mixables, Natural Life, Nutriplan, Nutro Max, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Ol' Roy, Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride, President's Choice, Price Chopper, Priority US, Publix, Roche Brothers, Save-a-Lot Special Blend, Schnucks, Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans, Sophistacat, Special Kitty, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Stop and Shop Companion, Tops Companion, Wegmans, Weis Total Pet, Western family US, White Rose, Winn Dixie, Your Pet, LIFELongTM, Ol' Roy and Special Kitty