Nearly 40 different pet food and treat items are or have been recalled this year, leaving pet owners feeling a bit uncertain about the safety of the dog or cat food they’re buying for their furry friends. But why were they recalled? In many cases, three brands of dog food, in particular, were recalled “because they contained the euthanasia drug pentobarbital.” Now, the company linked to the three brands of dog food is facing multiple lawsuits, “including a $5 million suit brought by the family that had four dogs fall ill, and one die, after eating food made by Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Co Inc. and Nutripack., LLC.”
The pet food industry has had a tough year so far. Already nearly 40 different pet food and treat items are or have been recalled this year, leaving dog owners feeling a bit uncertain about the safety of the dog or cat food they’re buying for their furry friends. But why were they recalled? In many cases, three brands of dog food, in particular, were recalled “because they contained the euthanasia drug pentobarbital.” Now, the company linked to the three brands of dog food is facing multiple lawsuits, “including a $5 million suit brought by the family that had four dogs fall ill, and one die, after eating food made by Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Co Inc. and Nutripack., LLC.”
So a lawsuit is being filed against Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food and Nutripack, their manufacturing company, but how responsible are they in the matter? According to the lawsuit, which is 86 pages long, Evanger’s and Nurtipack knew the pet food failed to undergo an inspection by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and that it was unfit for “human consumption, despite the fact that some products it made were adorned with the USDA logo.”
Evanger’s own court documents also revealed that the company “accepted more than 42,000 pounds of meat from its supplier labeled “inedible hand deboned beef,” which means the products were not for human consumption. It was also discovered during an FDA investigation that the beef that was advertised in some of the dog food wasn’t really beef, it was horse meat. Additionally, the FDA discovered that “none of the company’s suppliers were inspected by USDA, and that the product contained the euthanasia drug pentobarbital” — the same drug that “killed one and sickened four of the plaintiff’s dogs.”
But perhaps one of the most disturbing findings is that an untold number of pet owners can potentially end up affected by the contaminated dog food. According to the lawsuit, in addition to selling “more than a million cans of dog food a year under its own brand name,” Evanger’s also produces other products, like “Against The Grain,” and “privately labels for other brands, including Party Animal.” Both brands were recalled earlier this year for “pentobarbital contamination.” As a result of those recalls, Party Animal filed a lawsuit against Evanger’s for $20 million.
Because so many potentially contaminated products have been sold already, it will be interesting to see if other lawsuits are filed against the company down the road.
Sources:
Dog owners file $5 million lawsuit against Evanger’s, Nutripack
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