Blue Buffalo Reaches $32M Settlement Over Pet Food Ingredients

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On Thursday, Blue Buffalo announced that it had agreed to a $32 million class action settlement over allegations the pet food manufacturer deceived consumers about the contents of its pet food products.

Blue Buffalo, a leading natural pet food company, claimed that its pet food products were free of poultry byproducts. However, this claim was challenged by rival pet food maker Nestle Purina PetCare Co., and by plaintiffs in 13 separate class action lawsuits. The consumers’ Blue Buffalo class action lawsuits were consolidated in Missouri federal court in October 2014.

The false advertising class action lawsuits took issue with Blue Buffalo’s “True Blue Promise” label, which indicates the product contains no poultry byproduct meals; no corn, wheat or soy; and no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. According to the plaintiffs, several investigations have indicated that those ingredients are present in products with the “True Blue Promise” label.

According to the Blue Buffalo class action lawsuits, consumers paid a premium for the Blue Buffalo products with the “True Blue Promise” label because they were falsely advertised as having better quality ingredients than many other pet foods on the market.

Blue Buffalo denies any wrongdoing and insists the issue was related to the misconduct of a former ingredient supplier. However, Blue Buffalo has agreed to settle the false advertising class action lawsuit to avoid the uncertainty, burden and expense associated with further litigation.

Although Blue Buffalo says it is still pursuing claims against the ingredient supplier, the company notes that it was in the best interest of its customers to resolve the class action lawsuits.

If the proposed Blue Buffalo settlement is approved, consumers who bought the allegedly mislabeled products will be eligible for compensation that is proportional to the amount they spent on the pet food.

In a statement posted Thursday on the Purina website, Purina calls the proposed Blue Buffalo class action settlement “the largest pet food class action settlement ever.” Purina’s separate class action lawsuit against Blue Buffalo is still ongoing.

More information about how to file a claim for the proposed Blue Buffalo class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

Consumers are represented by the Simon Law Firm PC, Donovan Rose Nester PC, Carlson Lynch Ltd., and Faruqi & Faruqi LLP, among others.

The Blue Buffalo Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Blue Buffalo Company Ltd., Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Case No. 2562, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

UPDATE: Instructions on how to file a claim for the Blue Buffalo Pet Food Ingredients Class Action Settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.PetFoodSettlement.com for details.

UPDATE 2: On Jan. 11, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Blue Buffalo pet food ingredients class action settlement worth as much as $736.54. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!