Gravy Train Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Dog Food Is Poisonous

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Big Heart Pet Brands Inc. has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it fails to disclose that its Gravy Train dog food products contain pentobarbital and can be toxic to dogs.

According to plaintiff Nancy Sturm, the following Big Heart Pet Brands products contain pentobarbital, a barbiturate drug that is used as a sedative and anesthetic for animals:

• Gravy Train Chunks in Gravy with Beef Chunks
• Gravy Train Chunks in Gravy with T-Bone Flavor Chunks
• Gravy Train Chunks in Gravy with Chicken Chunks
• Gravy Train Strips in Gravy Beef Strips
• Gravy Train with Lamb & Rice Chunks

The Gravy Train class action lawsuit notes that pentobarbital is most commonly used in the euthanization of cats and dogs.

“Pentobarbital is a Class II controlled substance, and there is no safe or set level for pentobarbital in pet food,” the Gravy Train class action lawsuit says. “If it is present, the food is adulterated.”

A pet that ingests pentobarbital may experience adverse health effects such as salivation, vomiting, stool changes, decreased appetite, lethargy, neurologic abnormalities, difficulty walking, collapse, coma and/or death.

Sturm suggests that the pentobarbital contained in Gravy Train dog food may have gotten into the product because the food is made from rendered animal products.

“Rendered products come from a process that converts animal tissues into feed ingredients, including tissues from animals that were euthanized, decomposed or diseased,” the Gravy Train class action lawsuit says. “Pentobarbital from euthanized animals survives the rendering process and could be present in the rendered feed ingredients used in pet food.”

According to Sturm, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not taken aggressive action against pet food companies that use non-slaughtered animals. Therefore, pet food manufacturers have continued to use animals that have not been slaughtered and which may include poisonous substances like pentobarbital, which end up in their pet foods.

On Feb. 8, ABC network affiliate WJLA in Washington, D.C., reported that an independent investigation determined that Gravy Train dog food products contained pentobarbital. According to the Gravy Train class action lawsuit, Gravy Train was the only brand of pet food that tested positive for pentobarbital.

The WJLA report noted that pentobarbital is not used on farm animals; it is only used to euthanize dogs, cats, and horses.

Days after the report was released, Big Heart Pet Brands reportedly voluntarily withdrew more than two dozen products from the market. The FDA subsequently issued an alert about the voluntary withdrawal of these products, stating: “The FDA’s preliminary evaluation of the testing results of Gravy Train samples indicates that the low level of pentobarbital present in the withdrawn products is unlikely to pose a health risk to pets.”

“However,” the FDA said, “pentobarbital should never be present in pet food and products containing any amount of pentobarbital are considered to be adulterated.”

Sturm filed the Gravy Train class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of U.S. consumers who purchased the contaminated Gravy Train products for household or business use since Feb. 1, 2008. She also seeks to certify a Class of Illinois consumers.

A similar Gravy Train class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court earlier this month.

Sturm is represented by Rebecca A. Peterson and Robert K. Shelquist of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP.

The Gravy Train Poisonous Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit is Nancy Sturm v. Big Heart Pet Brands Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-01099-GSC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.