Beneful Dog Food has been killing dogs and making thousands unwell from the past four years. A lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California claims that Beneful Dog Food made by Nestle Purina Pet Care Company contains toxins and chemicals that can threaten lives of thousands of pet dogs.
The lawsuit filed by Frank Lucido claimed that he fed his three dogs with Beneful Dog Food beginning December 2014, but after some time his two dogs became sick, while the other one had died. He fed his pets with Beneful dry kibble dog food.
"We believe the lawsuit is baseless, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves and our brand," Bill Salzman said, the Nestle Purina Pet Care Company Director of Corporation Communications.
"Like other pet foods, Beneful is occasionally the subject of social media-driven misinformation. Online postings often contain false, unsupported and misleading allegations that cause undue concern and confusion for our Beneful customers. Bottom line: Consumers can continue to feed Beneful with total confidence."
In the report published by the Independent, the lawsuit claims that post-mortem examination of the English Bulldog fed on Beneful Dog Food showed consistent symptoms including kidney failure and liver malfunction or failure, internal bleeding, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures, and stomach bleeding.
Despite reports and lawsuit filed, the company has remained firm in standing that there were no issues in feeding pets with the Beneful Dog Food. The company even regarded the issues as social media-driven misinformation and that the lawsuit as baseless as it could also be dismissed like the earlier speculations.
NBC10 reports that the lawsuit claims chemicals propylene glycol, which is used as automobile antifreeze to be present in Beneful Dog Food. There were also toxins found particularly mycotoxins that are produced by fungus that can be found in grains.
Although the company has been very firm in disclaiming the issues, Lucido also has been consistent in presenting data that there were already around 3,000 online complaints regarding dogs that have become ill or have died when they were fed their pets with Beneful Dog Food.
Regarding the propylene glycol and toxins that have been reported to cause illness and deaths of dogs, the company spokesman Keith Schopp stated that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of propylene glycol in animal and in human food.
They also added that they were screening their grains carefully to make sure that they are free from any toxin.
Earlier in May, lawsuits were settled where Purina and Waggin Train LLC made agreement to make a $6.5 million fund that will pay off people claiming their pets were sick after consuming treats made from China.
Also during that time, the Food and Drug Administration claimed that there were reported 1,000 dog deaths and over 4,800 cases of dog illness recorded.
Beneful Dog Food comes in eight kinds including Original, Incredibites, Purina Benful Healthy Weight, Healthy Smile, Healthy Fiesta, Playful Life, Healthy Growth for Puppies, and Healthy Radiance.
