Rachael Ray’s Nutrish Dog Food is Falsely Labeled as Natural, Class Action Says

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Rachael Ray’s Nutrish dog food line is falsely labeled as “natural,” according to a class action lawsuit filed this week in California federal court.

Plaintiff Christina Grimm filed the Nutrish class action lawsuit Tuesday against Ainsworth Pet Nutrition Holdings LLC and several related companies. She accuses them of marketing Rachael Ray’s line of Nutrish dog food products as “natural” and having “no artificial preservatives” even though they allegedly contain synthetic ingredients and harmful additives.

According to the class action lawsuit, the packaging for Nutrish Super Premium Food for Dogs includes the following statements: “Made with simple, natural ingredients,” “No artificial flavors or artificial preservatives,” and “Natural Food for Dogs with Added Vitamins & Minerals.”

Grimm says she purchased at least four of the Rachael Ray dog food products, including Zero Grain – Grain Free Food for Dogs, Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe and three flavors of Nutrish Super Premium Food for Dogs. She claims she switched to Nutrish from her previous dog food because the products were advertised as being natural and having no artificial preservatives.

“Nutrish claimed on its webpage that every single one of these was natural and contained no artificial preservatives,” the Nutrish dog food class action lawsuit states. However, these products reportedly include artificial preservatives such as L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Menadione Sodium Bisulphate Complex, Thiamine Mononitrate, “natural flavors,” and caramel color.

“By deceptively marketing the Products as ‘natural’ and having ‘no artificial preservatives,’ Defendants wrongly capitalized on, and reaped enormous profits from, consumers’ strong preference for natural food products made free of artificial preservatives,” Grimm says in the Nutrish dog food class action lawsuit.

Grimm asserts she would not have paid as much for the Nutrish dog food, or she would have chosen to purchase different dog food products, if she had known that the Nutrish dog food products contained artificial preservatives and unnatural ingredients.

The products at issue in the Rachael Ray dog food class action lawsuit include a variety of flavors of Nutrish Super Premium Food for Dogs, Dish Super Premium Food for Dogs, Zero Grain – Grain Free Food for Dogs, Just 6 Food for Dogs, Nutrish Wet Food for Dogs, and Nutrish PEAK Ultra Premium Food for Dogs.

By filing the Nutrish dog food class action lawsuit, Grimm seeks to represent herself and a Class of California citizens who purchased any of the allegedly falsely labeled dog food products for household use since Feb. 4, 2010. She asserts claims for negligent misrepresentation, violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violations of the California False Advertising Law, violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, and quasi-contract.

Grimm is represented by Brian J. Robbins, Kevin A. Seely and Leonid Kandinov of Robbins Arroyo LLP, and Robert K. Shelquist and Rebecca A. Peterson of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP.

The Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit is Christina Grimm v. APN Inc., et al., Case No. 8:17-cv-00356, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On April 24, 2017, the maker of Rachael Ray’s brand of dog food “Nutrish,” argued that a class action lawsuit alleging the food is falsely labeled as “natural” should be dismissed because the label meets with all regulations.