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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.
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94 thoughts onGravy Train Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Dog Food Is Poisonous
I too lost a family member (puppers) he was a latge dog active and very healthy untill sudfenly he became lazy unresponsive salivating amd would collapse when he tried to walk then throwing up he rapidly lost weight from 120 down to 60lbs i wish i would habe known .at the time he got sick he was eating 2 cans a day of gravy train csn dog food ..this is cruel how can this be allowed..
please let me know how I can be included in this suit. my dog smokey had all those symptoms as well. he wouldn’t eat, vomiting and could barely walk. we fed him the gravy train beef chunks. I never knew this is what possibly killed our dog. we took him to the vet and they gave him oxygen, etc to try to save him. he died in December of 2015. he was the love of my son’s life. this is horrible!!!!!!!
?? how do I file I just lost two puppies to this mess it was so bad the vet thought
it was the parvovirus at first ? turned out to be their food!! It was the most horrible deaths I have ever seen
How do I file I just lost my two puppies to this horrible mess it was so bad the vet thought it was parvovirus at first the most horrible deaths I have ever seen
My dog had been eating the beef strips with gravy.she got to having like seizures wouldn’t eat throwing up.no engery.she is still sick.this is ashamed no amount of punishing them is to good.our pets is like our kids.thats like killing a child.please stick it to them.
I been buying this since 2012 – 2018 present, and feeding my 7 cats and dog this food. I lost 6 of my cats and have noticed that my dog and cat eat a lot grass after I have feed this to them. I notice that my Pets has slept a lot after feeding them this. Very sad to hear this especially after trusting this to be healthy. My pets are my heart and my family.
We feed our dog 2 months of this can and both of our dogs died 2 weeks of each other
I think I should put in a claim in for the price of my two dogs
Owners Jeff and Melissa
Do it !!!
The dog food industry needs all the negative attention I could get,
It’s sickening what they’re doing.
My dog been feeling bad last 2 weeks he went in coma and died he was feed gravy train chunks of gravy
No wonder my dog is sluggish all the time recently…I just changed him from this food and he is more lively now.
I just baked some homemade dog cookies with a simple recipe that’s harmless and healthy if anyone wants it! No more Milk Bones for my fur babies as they have not put that list out yet. Its also Pepperonis and other treats. You could probably google it before I can find it, meantime use caution.
I do!
I do want to make some and if you have other recipes that I could make
So I wouldn’t have to buy dog food that might kill my loving dogs
Tammy, we feed our pug cooked human food. She got really sick from store bought food, and it wasn’t even the cheap stuff. After vet bills and meds, we now only cook her food, and she’s doing well. Just cook up chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, ect. And rice & veggies like peas & carrots. Alternate type of meat, veggies ♡