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A class action lawsuit against Nestle Purina PetCare Co. claiming Beneful dog food killed or sickened thousands of pet has been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen granted summary judgment to Purina Thursday, rejecting testimony from the plaintiffs’ expert that suggested Beneful dog food was the direct cause of their dogs’ illnesses or deaths.
Lead plaintiff Frank Lucido filed the class action lawsuit against Purina in February 2015, claiming the company failed to adequately test its dog food or disclose the presence of toxins in Beneful dog food.
Purina moved to dismiss the case in April 2015, calling it a “lawsuit-by-social-media.” However, the plaintiffs countered and moved for certification of 15 Classes and 15 subclasses in July 2015.
The Beneful dog food class action lawsuit mostly centered on whether the ingredients in the Beneful dog food were toxic. The plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. John Tegzes, an animal toxicologist, analyzed a limited sampling 28 of 1,400 Beneful dog food provided by pet owners who dogs got sick after consuming Beneful dog food.
Dr. Tegzes analysis allegedly revealed that three types of toxins: propylene glycol; mycotoxins, a fungal mold on grain; and the heavy metals arsenic and lead were present in the dog food that could pose a “significant health risk” to dogs.
While these toxin levels did not exceed the amount allowed by the FDA, Dr. Tegzes stated that the FDA did not take into consideration long-term exposure to the toxins in Beneful dog food.
But Judge Chen rejected Dr. Tegzes’ conclusion, ruling that the sampling study lacked specific data to support the findings: the exact level of mycotoxins in the dog food and what specific level of mycotoxins actually poses a safety risk. Additionally, the judge noted that the expert failed to examine the affected dog’s veterinary record and other health factors.
“Dr. Tegzes’s opinion is not reliable because the scientific literature he invokes is either too speculative or too imprecise. Simply put, Dr. Tegzes cites no epidemiological evidence that long-term exposure to mycotoxins at levels below the limits set by the FDA leads to serious health risks for dogs,” Judge Chen stated.
Further, the judge shut down the expert’s testimony that Purina failed to properly test its Beneful dog food, ruling that Dr. Tegzes had no specialized knowledge of the pet food manufacturing process, testing or quality control procedures.
Judge Chen also refused to permit Dr. Tegzes and another expert, veterinarian Dr. Jena Questen, to give testimony about the importance of dog food safety and testing for consumers, finding that neither witness was qualified to testify on “consumer preferences.”
Chen said the plaintiffs’ case ultimately relied on Tegzes’ opinions, and dismissed the case on grounds that “because the court finds Dr. Tegzes’ opinions unreliable, plaintiffs’ case has no evidentiary support.”
Judge Chen denied plaintiffs’ request to submit additional evidence.
The consumers are represented by Ram Olson Cereghino & Kopczynski, Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, Kimbrell & Solen LLC, Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, Pastor Law Office LLP, Leonard Law Office PC, Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP, Consumer Law Group, Lackey Hershman LLP, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP Gilman Law LLP, Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP, the Animal Law Center, the Richman Law Group, Edelman Combs Latturner & Goodwin LLC and the Law Offices of S. Chandler Visher.
The Beneful Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit is Frank Lucido, et al. v. Nestle Purina PetCare Co., Case No. 3:15-cv-00569, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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50 thoughts onPurina Defeats Toxic Beneful Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit
I too had 2 dogs that ate this food and both got tumers and sick one had to be put down and my baby Thunder died within getting sick this last time. Breaks my heart ❤️ that they are still selling beniful,,I am so lost without 💔 my babies
how dare they kill our dogs,,does this food come from China
My little girl was eating this daily and she was not feeling well for 3 days, vomiting,excessive thirst and diarrhea. I took her to the vet and they told me she was in EXTREME LIVER FAILURE. SHE WAS only 8 years old when she died.
We just started our puppies one the beneful puppy hard dog food. After two days all four of the pups started having seizures and one of them about died from it. The vet said that the dog food was toxic to the pups. We immediately stopped giving it to them and only game them puppy milk for 48hra after that we put them on another puppy food and they are all healthy and none of them have had a seizure sense. Will never buy this brand of dog food again
Hello Kristina our little 3 year old Chihuahua had the same thing but my dog has been in the icu for the last 2 days having multiple back to back seizures after being on it for 2 weeks and I was wondering if you can help me with any options to start to get justice for my dog
My 6 month old puppy passed yesterday and the other 2 are showing the same symptoms after switching to beneful on Monday! The vet said it was very confusing because his entire system was shutting down like he was poisoned!
We bought a bag of Beneful as our regular dog food wasn’t available. We fed all 3 dogs the food. By the time we were done the 50lbs bag only our 1 dog a border collie started peeing herself. Didn’t think much as it only happened 1 day. Then a week later she stopped wanting to eat. We now at a3 weeks after that bag was done found out she is in kidney failure. Other 2 dogs seem fine. So sad that they can still market that food. I do believe it was the food that did this
We are on the 2nd or 3rd bag of Beneful and my dog has declined so fast. Losing hair, so tired, can’t stand easy, doesn’t want to go for walks and her gas smells so bad, we can’t be in the same room as her! So sad that poor quality of dog food can be on the market!
We gave one bowl of Purina beneful to our 5 year old healthy rottie and within hrs profuse vomiting diarrhea uncontrollable poos and uncontrollable blood from his anus. Vet bills are insane after all the tests antibiotics b12 shots I V’s my dog’s liver count should be at 125 it’s at 232 so this poison food has destroyed his liver.
My dog was fed only Beneful beacuase we thought it was a high end food
Our Visla developed massive siezures.
Never again
I have never given my two three year old American Bulldogs AKA pitbulls this food before I was trying to find something at had a beef or chicken as first ingredient because they do have skin issues I tried Benefield for one week and my dogs were vomiting uncontrollably as if they weren’t digesting the food at all I started giving them some just plain white rice to ease their vomiting and now I’m seeing blood in their stool
I had to put down my 6 year old Golden Retriever because he got an inoperable tumor in his abdomen. The only food he ever ate was Beneful. Since then, I’ve been on a campaign to discourage anyone I know not to use Purina anything. I know I don’t!
I had to put mine down today! He got CANCER from the food and I’m going to sue!
I purchased tuna large bags of beneful Purina product for my animals and made them sickI’ve been trying to get refund waiting on a refund for several months still haven’t received it
I know that without a doubt this food killed my 16 year old German Shepard. My dog was healthy in my eyes. I got her at 8 weeks and she never left my side until last year. I started her off with Dad’s but it was to rich for her so we moved on. Finally my mom told me to try Beneful because my Aunt uses it. My dog ate it with no problem at all. For 16 years I fed her this food and as she got older she was rejecting the food and started throwing up. I backed off and fed her chicken and rice like the vet said and she was fine. A few years passed and we had no problem, then it started again. I never thought it would’ve been the food and I never thought she would get cancer and leave me 3 months later. WTH are y’all doing to Our Pets???!!
Your 16yr old German Shepard? I’m sorry for your loss but that’s an amazing age for a GS.