Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
A class action lawsuit alleging Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food contains a dangerous weedkiller was tossed by a federal judge for lack of specificity.
Lead plaintiff Markeith Parks alleged in the class action lawsuit that Rachael Ray’s brand of dog food contained glyphosate, a type of herbicide, despite labels indicating that Nutrish was “natural.”
Parks claimed that the labeling misled consumers who would not expect the chemical linked to the weedkiller Roundup to be in the supposedly natural pet food.
The maker of Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition LLC, pushed back, noting that Parks did not include the amount of the weedkiller found in the products in the class action complaint.
Parks contended in response that including any amount of glyphosate and labeling the product “natural” is misleading, but U.S. District Court Judge Louis L. Stanton disagreed.
“A reasonable customer would not be so absolutist as to require that ‘natural’ means there is no glyphosate, even an accidental and innocuous amount, in the products,” notes the memo supporting the order to dismiss. “The presence of negligible amounts of glyphosate in a dog food product that do not have harmful, ‘toxic,’ or ‘carcinogenic’ effects is not likely to affect consumers’ decisions in purchasing the product and is thus not harmful.”
The judge noted that the story might change if Parks can show that there is a “material” amount of the weedkiller in Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food.
The Nutrish class action lawsuit’s claims for breach of warranty and unjust enrichment were also dumped, along with a demand for a court order requiring Ainsworth to stop misleadingly market Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food.
Judge Stanton pointed out that Parks did not allege that he would buy Nutrish ever again, but this could be changed in a subsequent pleading.
Ainsworth attempted to argue that the class action lawsuit’s false advertising claims was preempted by U.S. Food and Drug regulations; however, Judge Stanton found that FDA regulations regarding the use of pesticides do not have a preemptive effect on false advertising claims.
The company also asked for the court to halt proceedings in light of an anticipated guidance from the FDA about the use of the term “natural” on food labeling.
Judge Stanton determined that because the Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food class action would need to be amended otherwise to continue, the stay was not necessary.
The Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food class action lawsuit alleges that chemicals found in the pet products are dangerous and that consumers would not expect the ingredient in a weedkiller to show up in a natural product.
The plaintiff is represented by Kim E. Richman of Richman Law Group.
The Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit is Markeith Parks v. Ainsworth Pet Nutrition LLC d/b/a Rachael Ray Nutrish, Case No. 1:18-cv-06936-LLS, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
UPDATE: On Feb. 20, 2020, a New York federal judge dismissed an amended class action lawsuit that claims Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food is labeled as being “natural” even though it contains a trace amount of a herbicide.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
20 thoughts onRachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food Class Action Gets Dumped
I have two dogs that just got diagnosed with cancer 4 months apart from each other and they ate Rachael Ray until 3 years ago. My 8 Year old male has bone cancer in the foot and had to have part of his foot removed and has to be checked up every 6 months to make sure it’s not moving to his chest he just got diagnosed with cancer February of 2023. I just found out yesterday my 5-year-old female has bone cancer on her jaw. The only relatable thing we could find with the vet was the dog food and are currently looking into the lawsuits against it it is such an odd coincidence that four months apart from each other both my dogs end up with cancer and the female may not make it to the end of the year because hers is more aggressive and fast moving! DO NOT FEED your dog Rachel Ray!!!!!!
We lost our 9 MONTH OLD KITTEN, The only thing that we switched with his diet was taking him off his regular food to go with Rachel Ray cat food. We thought ” healthier is better”. Back track he was a very wild and playful kitten. We did his neuter back in Oct. EVERYTHING was normal went great. Then we changed his food In Nov. Rachel Ray Cat food. He really didn’t like it so we made sure to add some water thinking maybe it was just because it was new. Then one night we were awoken by Hercules not being able to breathe. He let out a loud mow. We rushed him at 3 am a week before Christmas, to a ER vet. Thats when they checked him and said his heart was showing signs of Cardiomyopathy, he was now in critical care as fluid developed in both of his lungs. Within 24 hours we had to put down a. kitten! Our hearts are still broken and in shock. Hercules was on oxygen for 24 long hours. He couldn’t be without . We tired everything . Please pull Rachel Ray cat food until further investigations .
I am writing you on behalf of myself, my wife, and our two dogs Rex (passed away from cancer) and Luna who was just diagnosed with cancer yesterday and is an 8 year old cattle dog that we love dearly.
Both of our healthy dogs came down with the same type of cancer that is Pulmonary Metastases. Rex was 12 when he passed away, and Luna was just diagnosed yesterday. She has lost 24 lbs in the last year and I was certain something serious may be going on but never in my wildest dreams would imagine her being so young and healthy ( incredible frisbee dog), would come down with something so young exactly like Rex.
It got the gears turning in my head yesterday as I left the Vet with the news and the only thing I could think of is the food we were feeding both of them. As I investigated further I found this lawsuit and was blown away the same food in your document was the same food we were feeding both rex and Luna. Luna stopped eating this food all together a year ago and I’m certain the cancer had already started (she ate this food 85% of her life :( ). I’m sick to my stomach with the findings and lab test in your lawsuit. What we thought of this food as higher quality “natural food”, actually, was in fact packed full of an unnatural chemical found in roundup “glyphosate”.
We live in Denver, Colorado and I can not allow other dog owners to have pets die at the hands of dog food that is misleading and literally packed full of carcinogenic properties that is linked to feeding various cancers in dogs.
Hi I have a terrier mix breed and have switched to Rachel rays dog dood as of 3 weeks ago. I now believe it’s because of her dog food that my dog is heavily panting, seems confused sometime and urinating on his self when confused. I am taking him to a veterinarian because of this. He was perfectly fine until we started this food.?
We lost 3 dogs to cancer. And we been using Rachel Ray’s food thinking it’s great for the dogs and we are seeing how its
not now. they had those cancer spots lumps on their body’s. The vet said it was cancer and they where suffering we had to have them put down.. they all was diagnosed and died with in 6 months of each other..
My basset hound/char pei male died of oral cancer and Rachel Ray Nutrish is the only food he ate. We had the tumor removed the first time, which took half of the roof of his mouth. Two years later, it came back with a vengeance and we had to put him down at the age of 7. We never put 2 and 2 together that it could be his food.
Now one of my cats, who just started on Rachel Ray cat food a year ago has a tumor in her jaw. I have switched her to moist cat food. I’m beginning to think there is definitely a problem with Rachel Ray food.
We feed our current dog Gentle Giants food.
I just bought this food today. After reading these testimonies I am afraid to feed it to my boys.
I know that dangerous products remain on shelves, because of technical glitch’s in wording.
The article didn’t say that there WASN’T any chemical glyphosate.
So I’ll buy a different food.
I love my boys.
Shame on Rachel Ray
I gave my dog this food for about 4 months. My 3 1/2 year old Siberian husky died of a seizure that lasted 4 hours straight. He wouldn’t eat for 2 days before that happened. My boy was healthy and excitable as usual the day before that and the previous weeks before this incident. He died December 28th, 2019 seemingly out of nowhere.
My name is john had a dog become aggressive after eating rachel rays dog food called wetlands he never bit me before only after eating this food