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Thousands of Dogs Hurt and Killed by Purina Food, Suit Says
A class action lawsuit claims that a food additive and fungus-produced toxins in Beneful caused internal bleeding and liver damage.
Erik Sherman
Feb 25th 2015 10:25AM
Updated Feb 25th 2015 2:33PM
Lawsuit Claims Purina's Beneful Is Poisoning Dogs
A class action lawsuit filed in California claims that Beneful dry kibble dog food -- a popular brand from Nestle Purina PetCare (NSRGY) promoted as "wholesome" with "quality nutrition" -- contains toxins that injured and killed thousands of dogs, according to NBC News.
Pet owner Frank Lucido alleged that his family began feeding their three dogs exclusively on Beneful in late December or early January and that the animals were kept in separate houses because of some home construction. By the end of January, all three dogs had become seriously ill and one died. Two of the dogs showed bleeding in the stomach and liver lesions. The dead dog, an 8-year-old English bulldog, showed signs "consistent with poisoning," according to a veterinarian quoted in the lawsuit.
Jeff Cereghino, an attorney representing Lucido, emphasized to the Daily Beast that all three dogs ate the same food and were in different buildings. "So you take away the automatic assumption that the neighbor didn't like the dogs or whatever," he said. "He was feeding them Beneful at the start of this, and one got sick and died, the other two were very ill. And then he started doing a little research, and he realized the causal link, at least in his mind, was the food."
Liver, Kidney Issues
The website ConsumerAffairs shows close to 800 one-star ratings of Beneful out of a possible five stars. Many posted stories allege that dog owners saw their pets become ill and often die from what appeared to be liver and kidney failure.
The association between Beneful and claimed harm to pets isn't new. Rumor-busting site Snopes.com said that unproven claims about problems go back to at least 2007.
"We believe the lawsuit is baseless, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves and our brand," a company representative said in a statement sent Wednesday to DailyFinance. "Beneful had two previous class action suits filed in recent years with similar baseless allegations, and both were dismissed by the courts."
The suit claims that propylene glycol and mycotoxins are potentially harmful substances that are in Beneful. Propylene glycol is "clear, colorless liquid with the consistency of syrup," according to manufacturer Dow Chemical. It is used in a wide variety of applications, including hydraulic fluids, automobile antifreeze and cosmetics, but is also approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a food additive.
Propylene Glycol and Mycotoxins
To put the combination of uses into some perspective, water is used in food preparation and in antifreeze as well. Still, the site DogFoodAdvisor said that propylene glycol has a "proven ability to cause a serious type of blood disease" in cats and that the FDA banned its use in cat food. Norway, Sweden and Finland last fall recalled cinnamon-flavored Fireball Whiskey over levels of propylene glycol, according to the Huffington Post.
Mycotoxins are substances produced by some types of fungi, according to the National Institutes of Health. They can be poisonous, but they are also used in a variety of drugs, including antibiotics. Some types of mycotoxins are associated with damage to liver and kidneys.
The Association for Truth in Pet Food said that it tested some popular dog foods and found that Beneful Original had a significant enough mycotoxins level to pose a "high risk" to animal health.
Last year, Nestle Purina PetCare was one of two companies that settled a class action lawsuit by creating a $6.5 million pet owner compensation fund, according to NBC News. The suit claimed that jerky treats caused illness and death in thousands of dogs.
Posted : February 28, 2015 1:50 pm
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This product is being sold here in the islands.
I saw a lady at K-Mart yesterday with a bag of Beneful in her cart and stopped her from buying it.
I then spoke with K-Mart' s manager to inform them of the lawsuit and to suggest they remove the product from their shelves before it can sicken or kill any of our VI pets.
If you see this product being sold where you shop, please inform the store's owner or managers to get information about the class action lawsuit and ask them to pull the product from their shelves.
Posted : March 7, 2015 7:49 pm
