Nestle Hit with Fancy Feast Slave Labor Class Action Lawsuit

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Nestle USA, one of the most profitable food conglomerates in the United States, faces a potential $5 million class action lawsuit over allegations that the company supports slave labor by purchasing seafood-based Fancy Feast cat food products from a international company known for using “sea slaves.”

Lead plaintiff Melanie Barber and a group of other California residents filed the Fancy Feast class action lawsuit last Thursday accusing Nestle of knowing that most of the fish they use in their seafood-based pet food is likely the product of slave labor, yet the company allegedly omits this information from consumers.

The Fancy Feast slave labor class action lawsuit states that the company buys a portion of the 28 million pounds of pet food shipped annually from Thai Union Frozen Products PCL. However, according to the complaint Thai Union has created a system of getting seafood from “mothership” fishing boats who collect seafood from other smaller fishing boats who employ crews of men and boys sold as slaves to the fishing captains.

The plaintiffs claim that these sea slaves fall victim to human traffickers who prey upon desperate men hoping to gain employment. According to the Nestle class action lawsuit, these sea slaves face harsh living conditions including exhausting work shifts of 20 hours per day with little or no pay. The complaint also claims that sea slaves are only given one bowl of rice per day and when water runs low they have to “suck the unsanitary and foul-tasting ice chips used to freeze fish.”

Lead plaintiff Barber along with the other plaintiffs who filed the Fancy Feast class action lawsuit allege that they would not have purchased Nestle’s pet food had they known the company profits from slave labor.

The Nestle Fancy Feast class action lawsuit accuses the company of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act and false advertising. The plaintiffs allege that not only has Nestle failed to disclose the likelihood of slave labor used to obtain its seafood-based pet food, the company has also “not required its suppliers to remedy the ongoing human rights abuses.”

The slave labor class action lawsuit argues that food conglomerates should not turn a “blind eye” to human right abuses anywhere in their supply chains. According to the complaint, “when these food conglomerates fail to uphold their responsibility for ensuring the absence of slave labor in their supply chains, their misconduct has the profound consequence of supporting and encouraging slave labor.“

The plaintiffs are seeking restitution and injunctive relief that would require Nestle to cease its deceptive marketing.

If approved, the Nestle class action lawsuit would be open to all Class Members who purchased seafood based Fancy Feast Cat Food in California during the four years prior to the filing of this complaint.

The plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman, Ashley A. Bede, Elaine T. Byszewski and Christopher R. Pitoun of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The Nestle Fancy Feast Class Action Lawsuit is Melanie Barber, et al. v. Nestle USA Inc., et al., Case No. 8:15-cv-01364, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division.

UPDATE: The Nestle Fancy Feast slave labor class action lawsuit was dismissed on Dec. 9, 2015.