Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Over Purina Beneful Dog Food

A popular pet food manufacturer is facing a class-action lawsuit over its dog food made in Edmond.

Thursday, February 26th 2015, 4:54 pm

By: News 9


A popular pet food manufacturer is facing a class-action lawsuit over its dog food made in Edmond.

A California dog owner claims Purina Beneful dog food sickened two of his dogs and killed another. The lawsuit alleges thousands of other dogs suffered similar fates due to Beneful.

While the class-action lawsuit is hashed out in court, pet owners who feed their dogs Beneful are wondering what to do.

“That really upsets me because she has been on Beneful for quite some time,” said Linda Weber of Ardmore.

Weber brought her dog, Charlie, to Blue Pearl Vets in Oklahoma City and just found out the food she has been feeding the 8-year-old pup is in question.

“She's my baby,” said Weber. “I'll be very, very unhappy if I find out something bad has happened because of that.”

The lawsuit alleges Beneful dry dog foods contain an ingredient toxic to animals, called propylene glycol. It is a chemical used in antifreeze, but it is also in human food.

Dr. Amy Kubier with Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners said in very small amounts, propylene glycol is usually not toxic. Kubier said the lawsuit is worrisome, but pet owners should not panic.

“There is not enough scientific information yet for us to say there is a link between the illnesses and the deaths with the Beneful dog food,” Kubier explained.

The lawsuit said there have been more than 3,000 online complaints about dogs becoming ill or dying from Beneful. The dogs reportedly had stomach bleeds, organ failure, vomiting and seizures.

“I have dogs myself and all of us who are dog lovers want to do whatever we can and the best thing for them and this does make it hard,” Kubier told News 9. “Right now, they are doing lots of testing.”

Veterinarians urge pet owners to call their local vets with any questions or concerns about feeding Beneful to their dogs. Purina makes Beneful at its Edmond plant.

The company tells News 9 there are no quality issues with it and consumers can continue to feed it with total confidence

Nestle Purina's statement issued the following statement regarding this incident:

“Beneful is a high quality, nutritious food enjoyed by millions of dogs every day. In fact, in 2014, nearly 1.5 billion Beneful meals were served to millions of happy, healthy dogs who enjoy and thrive on this food.

Recently, a class action lawsuit was filed against Beneful in Northern California. We believe the lawsuit is baseless, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves and our brand. Beneful had two previous class action suits filed in recent years with similar baseless allegations, and both were dismissed by the courts. Class action suits are common in business these days. They are not indicative of a product issue.

Beneful is backed by Purina's strict quality controls and comprehensive food safety program.

Like other pet foods, Beneful is occasionally the subject of social media-driven misinformation. On-line postings often contain false, unsupported and misleading allegations that cause undue concern and confusion for our Beneful customers.

At Purina we're passionate about pets. We encourage anyone with a comment or question about Purina to contact us directly at the toll-free number on every package. For answers to FAQs about Beneful, go to https://www.beneful.com/frequently-asked-questions

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