Brigette Honaker  |  August 29, 2018

Category: Consumer News

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A concerned pet owner recently filed a class action lawsuit against the maker of Taste of the Wild dog food claiming that the products are contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals.

Plaintiff Martin Grossman is suing defendant Diamond Pet Foods Inc. over allegations that the company’s Taste of the Wild products are contaminated with harmful chemicals including pesticides.

Diamond Pet Foods manufactures and distributes Taste of the Wild products, marketing the dog food as formulated “based on your pet’s ancestral diet.”

The company further supports the quality of their products by stating: “Every ingredient is carefully selected from trusted sources, each recipe is designed by our veterinarians and nutritionists to meet specific nutritional requirements and every product is tested for quality and safety before leaving our facilities.”

Despite claims of natural ingredients and high quality nutrition, Taste of the Wild dog food may not be as incredible as marketing suggests. Grossman alleges that Diamond Pet Food products contain a series of undesirable contaminates which can cause harm to animals.

Through testing of Taste of the Wild, Grossman says he discovered the dog food contains heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium, as well as pesticides, acrylamide, and BPA.

These contaminates can allegedly build up in an animal’s body and cause toxicity, leading to adverse health conditions. Health conditions reported in relation to pet food contaminates include lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal damage, nerve damage, neurological side effects, seizures, heart problems, cancers, and in some cases death.

In his Diamond Pet Food class action, Grossman alleges that the manufacturer knew about the contaminates in their Taste of the Wild pet foods, but chose to mislead consumers in an attempt to increase their profits. The Taste of the Wild manufacturer allegedly acknowledges and aims to capitalize on the trend of pet owners prioritizing natural, nutritious ingredients in their pet food.

“Defendants know that certain consumers seek out and wish to purchase premium pet foods that possess high quality ingredients and do not contain chemicals or contaminants, and that these consumers will pay more for pet foods that they believe possess these qualities than for pet foods that they do not believe possess these qualities,” the Taste of the Wild dog food class action claims.

Grossman seeks to represent a Class of consumers who have purchased contaminated Taste of the Wild dog food since May 1, 2013. The Diamond Pet Food class action seeks restitution, disgorgement, statutory damages, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Plaintiffs are represented by Robert K. Shelquist and Rebecca A. Peterson of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP; Joseph DePalma, Steven J. Greenfogel, and Susana Cruz-Hodge of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC; Daniel E. Gustafson, Karla M. Gluek and Raina C. Borrelli of Gustafson Gluek PLLC; Kevin A. Seely and Steven M. McKany of Robbins Arroyo LLP; and Charles Laduca and Kathrine Van Dyck of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP.

The Taste of the Wild Contaminated Pet Food Class Action Lawsuit is Grossman v. Shell & Kampeter Inc. d/b/a Diamond Pet Foods, Case No. 2:18-cv-02344-JAM-AC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

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800 thoughts onTaste of the Wild Class Action Says Dog Food Contains Pesticides, Metals

  1. A. Catania says:

    I’ve been feeding my pup TOTW for about a month and I encountered a lot of problems especially diarrhoea with blood and vomiting. I rushed to the vet and he is now on antibiotics and special gastrointestinal formula.

  2. John says:

    After reading half of these comments, I can safely say 99.99% are nonsense and speculation. At first you think there is a pattern be but when you read enough you see its death at every age, every cancer, and ever other ailment. And guess what, my guess is it doesn’t come from the food, or rather it does but at levels no other than any other food and at no rate of good or bad than any other food . I’m also a proof of this because I’ve been feeding Buddy this for a while and if anything he’s the same or better than before, AND as for the lumps, he already had them before I got him so if it’s simply blame on food then I’m evidence this isn’t true because we only discovered this food 9 year into his life when the lumps were already there. I sympathize with all complaints but sorry people wake up, every ailment does not mean it came from the food, especially some which takes years to manifest yet your dog got cancer 2 weeks afte feeding them something, gimme a break. I do believe it has toxicty, so does every other food, even our broccoli does, Unless you have $100 for a bag of food its probably going to be toxic.

  3. Stacie says:

    I have a 4 month old pup . I believe the previous owners fed Louie Hills,science diet And I thought Blue was a good food . Look ,if this food has metal in it , I just bought it and my baby loves it
    Please help me ,my previous GSD lupus. I can’t go through another crossing

    1. Kayla says:

      Then you probably shouldn’t have a dog ? Or a pet of any kind. Because all dogs eventually die.

      1. Beth says:

        Kayla,
        Really? Are you that insensitive and have nothing better to say? You are obviously a very unhappy person and need not post crap like that for animal caring folks.

    2. Tom says:

      Hard to say…whole raw food is probably the best there is. Some gsd’s live to over 20 on it. My gsd ate totw for 10 years, from 10-15 years of age. Other dry foods gave her a lot of other immediate allergies.

  4. Shannon Anderson-Barker says:

    Wish I would’ve known about this way earlier. My 8 year old lab has been on this for several years now. And recently almost lost her, she’s still very sick.We took her to WSU and she was in adrenal failure, liver toxicity, and kidney disease. She lost at least 10 lbs. in a short amount of time due to vomiting so much. Sadly we don’t know how long will have with her. Sign me up for this lawsuit.

    1. Jillybean says:

      Sounds to me like all you people blaming the dog food just want to get in on “possibly” getting money. Which i seriously hope none of you get, unless its proven that the dog food is to blame for each individual dog! Not just hear say from your mouths saying my dog had been on it the food for X number of years! PROVE IT IS THE DOG FOOD. People like all of you make me sick, always out to get a buck.

    2. Brittany says:

      I switched to this dog food and my dog is being seen today for liver issues. He was seen the year before and was fine. My heeler couldn’t eat it at all.

  5. Deborah Knowlton says:

    My 5 yr old dog was on TOTW until developing serious gastrointestinal problems, vomiting and diarrhea- the diarrhea became so severe that his hemoglobin dropped from dehydration and he was rushed to the vet. This happened multiple times while on TOTW. I would like to be added to this lawsuit as well.
    We tested him for everything we could find and vet told us to throw away all of his food and change brands. We did that 4 months ago and he has not been sick once. Pretty sure that food was slowly poisoning him.

  6. Bob says:

    Your dog develops a health condition and automatically its THE FOOD! I read it on the internet so it must be true. It couldn’t possibly be that the dog has a health issue. My gosh folks get a grip!

  7. Barb M says:

    My 3 yr old lab is having seizures after being on TOTW
    . My son’s German Shepherd had serious skin allergies.
    My lab and his dog are both 3 years old. We thought this was a good food. Vet said “grain free” food is causing heart issues so I switched to the ancient grains version. 5 days later seizures started. It’s heartbreaking
    Please add my dog to lawsuit.
    My son’s too.

    1. Trish says:

      Barb,
      My 3 year old Heeler just started having seizures and has been on this food his whole life. I started cooking for him, not sure what to think, but I hope that the diet change will help.
      Trish

  8. DK says:

    How do I get added. My baby has been on TOTW exclusively and now has heart issues. I better not lose them to a company that’s been lying to me.

    1. Barb M says:

      My lab has been on Tote for a couple years. Vet said to switch to a grain food. I got Tote with ancient grains. 5 days after switching my dog is having seizures. How can I be added to the lawsuit? My son’s dog ate same TOTW and has serious skin infections.

  9. Deanna Stalioraitis says:

    What is the status of this lawsuit?

  10. Carol Hammond says:

    Please include me in the lawsuit

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