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Two dog owners who bought AvoDerm pet food for their four-legged friends believing it was made with California avocados are suing the pet food’s producer, claiming they were misled.
Plaintiffs Aaron Brand and John Flodin filed a proposed nationwide class action lawsuit Monday in the Northern District of California alleging Central Garden & Pet Company and its brand Breeder’s Choice Pet Food, are deceptively marketing and advertising their AvoDerm product.
Brand and Flodin say the key marketing around AvoDerm is that it contains avocado, and that avocado is a “super food” that helps pets have healthy skin and coats.
“Defendants’ central and uniform marketing claim is that “avocados are a key ingredient in AvoDerm recipes” and the very “o” in AvoDerm is an illustration of an avocado,” the class action lawsuit stated.
However, the product contains “little to no avocado at all,” the lawsuit claims.
AvoDerm has “negligible amounts” of avocado in it, according to the lawsuit, and if it does have any, the avocado used is actually a powder that is not pure dried avocado itself.
“Rather, Plaintiffs are informed and believe that “avocado” powder consists of a very small percentage of dried avocado, if any at all, and that the majority of the “avocado” powder is comprised of several other dried or dehydrated ingredients,” the lawsuit says.
San Diego consumer Brand said in Jan. 2019 he bought a 30 lb bag of AvoDerm Natural Adult Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Formula Dry Dog Food from Amazon for $49.99.
The food was for Brand’s dog Lola, and he said he bought it at that price believing — due to the packaging — that it was made using California avocados. California avocados are some of the most premium, and expensive, you can buy, the lawsuit alleges. Meanwhile, Washington resident Flodin bought AvoDerm puppy food for his golden retriever.
However, the consumers claim Central Garden & Pet Company and Breeder’s Choice Pet Food deceived them by stating California avocados are used in AvoDerm products, and that the product is “Made in the USA.”
“Defendants’ claims about the origins of the avocados and oil in the product—California—are also false,” the lawsuit says.
“Plaintiffs are informed and believe that avocado and avocado oil used in AvoDerm products, if any, are not only sourced from avocados grown and pressed outside of California, but are from avocados grown and pressed outside the United States, including in Mexico, among potentially other foreign countries.”
Brand and Flodin are suing AvoDerm’s makers under California and Washington consumer and business laws, including for false advertising, unfair competition, breach of warranty, deceptive practices and contract law.
The pair of consumers are seeking to represent a nationwide Class of dog and cat owners who bought AvoDerm products, and a Washington and California sub-class.
They asked a judge for certification of the Class, a jury trial, damages, restitution, an injunction, interest and lawyer’s fees.
This is not the first time the humble avocado has become central to a lawsuit.
In 2017, Yucatan Foods faced a class action claiming it mislabeled some of its guacamoles as containing nothing but avocado and spices, when they contained many other ingredients.
Have you paid more for a product for your pet, believing it had a premium ingredient in it? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Dave Fox and Courtney Vasquez of Fox Law, APC.
The AvoDerm Pet Food Avocado Class Action Lawsuit is Aaron Brand and John Flodin, et. al., v. Central Garden & Pet Company, Breeder’s Choice Pet Food, Inc., and Does 1-50, Case No. 4:21-cv-01631-JST, in the United States District Court Northern District of California.
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