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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
It is so easy for people to fault their dogs diet. What people aren’t saying is what else are they feeding their dog? ie. sugary snacks, ham, bacon, etc.etc. My Lab is 11 years old this year. He went on TOTW grain-free a few months ago. At that time he was lethargic and had a hard time sitting up. Now he is as energetic as he was when he was much younger. He loves TOTW and gobbles it down. Look people, I understand that it is easy to fault this or that for their dog’s health. Fact is we only have them for a realatively short time. Not ALL dogs are going to be the model of health. Genetics are the major factor of an animals health. My Shadow is old now and I treasure every day I have him. I have given him the best life I can imagine. So unless someone can show me the perfect diet that will without fail cause my baby to live till 20 I am not going to fall into the easy buck lawsuit. Which I believe will fail due to lack of evidence. Just my thoughts on the matter.
I call CAP.. TOTW (Pacific Stream) is pound for pound best kibble available on the market. My 13 year old Rottweiler has been eating it for 11+ years after Orijen (puppy and 6fish) the 1st 2 years got a little pricey for my pockets.I worked for Petclub during his 1st 5 years, and did a lot of research on dry kibble to give Apollo the best diet I could afford that would give him the best chance at a longer healthier life than the average Rottweiler was predicted on living. He has been extremely healthy. Only seeing the vet for routine check-ups and vaccines.. Apollo has maintained a healthy weight of 90lbs-110lbs his entire adult life. Maybe it’s luck, but all things considered. I believe TOTW kibble has been a major contributing factor on his health.. I would like to see the actual evidence showing TOTW is bad for our dogs and there weren’t other contributing factors causing these poor dogs to suffer. My heart and sympathy goes out to them and there owners. You just shouldn’t jump to conclusions without proof.. After all this time, and still NO definitive evidence beyond speculation.. Again I feel terrible for the owners and dogs who have had
I call CAP.. I’ve been feeding my Rottweiler Apollo “Pacific Stream” version of TOTW dogwood for 11+ years, (Apollo will be 13 this July fed him Orijen puppy & 6fish 1st 2 years) He has been Very healthy and never needed a vet for anything beyond vaccine and routine check-ups. TOTAL is the best dogfood pound for pound and cost wise. You get the best ingredients for the lowest price when comparing to all other kibble currently available. He has maintained a healthy weight (90lbs-110lbs) his entire life
My dog has been on this food his whole life and we are having major problems skin issues he has been walking around crying I think we’re going to change his food I would love to be added to this lawsuit
Where does this lawsuit stand as of May 2022?
It was dismissed/rejected, not sure why (I’m not so good with a legal terminologies) but u can google about this case.
I just went and bought a bag of TOTW because it was recommended to me by many friends. My pup just turned 6 months old but has a really sensitive stomach. After reading all these comments, I’m starting to get nervous. I don’t really want to throw a whole bag away but is it worth it? Will this really make my dog as sick as everyone says?
No because it’s not true.
Throw it out. My dog got cancer 2 years ago from a contaminants bag of their food and died within 2 months. I tried everything but it was too late. Her rare form of cancer developed at the same time I bought a new bag. And only 1a% of dogs get the cancer she had so it’s definitely from intoxication of bad food.
Dido same for me naught a new bag and within 2 months she had cancer the vet did extensive testing and thousands of dollars later she was gone from contaminated food by TOTW
I’m sorry for your loss. How exactly do you KNOW it was the food that caused it? It seems like this would be very hard to determine what exactly caused it. I don’t understand how the fact that only 1% get that type of cancer automatically means it was the food. Can you explain how that works?
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
I fed TOTW Pacific Stream with Salmon for years to my Bulldog. Last yr. he developed seizures in June 2022 he had 5 in 72 hours. I switched his food to TOTW Sierra Mountain with Lamb he didn’t have any more seizures until last night (4/11/23) that was 9 months seizure free. Oddly enough I purchased & fed the Pacific Stream less than a week ago. I am begging to think the food may be a trigger or the Pacific Stream has contaminates causing them. Of course I immediately went back to Sierra Mountain today but I will be looking for a different brand asap.
I would like to be added, my male Jack Russell developed a very bad ear infection while eating TOTW. After 4 vet visits, ear cleaning, antibiotics my vet suggested changing back to the food I was giving him before and it has taking weeks for the TOTW to get out of his system.
This sounds like it’s a specific allergy your dog might have to one of the ingredients in the food.allergies are a common pain in the a$# to figure out in dogs but one of the first things to look into is the dog food they eat. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad food, it just means your particular dog has a sensitivity or allergy to one or more of the ingredients in that particular food.
My boxer was my son. His mom was pregnant with him at my wedding. He was born on Thanksgiving 2012. My husband died six days later. He was a healthy happy go lucky amazing boxer. He got really really sick at age 7. Kidney failure, liver failure, the vet asked if he got into antifreeze. He did not. He was raised on diamond dog food and I just finished feeding him a bunch of totw dog food. My other dogs didn’t like it so he ate it for weeks. He died terribly on his 8th bday. All I know is somebody took his choice of life away. Somebody took him from me. I’d like to see some one pay for that but, sadly that won’t bring him back to me. He was my son, my emotional support animal for my ptsd, my actual registered service animal. He saved my life and I couldn’t save him. I’m sorry for anyone who has ever had to go through this pain.
Same here mine was 3 and she was my service animal for many reason grew up on TOTW I fed her a new bag of pacific stream and the emergency vet did extensive testing and found it was in just 2 months her lungs had cancer that is only developed by toxins or contaminated food and she only ate TOTW the vet told me to look into lawsuit
I would like to see the sampling plan(s), analytical methods, names of analytical labs performing the testing, QA/QC protocols/documentation for each lab, etc. From that start I would be able to make my own decisions. No BS from the law office. Respectfully yours and thank you.