Big Heart Pet Brands Facing More Litigation Over Dog Food Allegedly Contaminated with Pentobarbital

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Big Heart Pet Brands, Inc. was hit with two proposed class actions in California federal court in which the plaintiffs claim the company’s dog food products are “adulterated” with pentobarbital, a barbiturate used to sedate and euthanize animals. Echoing the claims of a similar case, the lawsuits allege the below Big Heart Pet Brand products may be contaminated: 

• Gravy Train Chunks in Gravy with Beef Chunks;
• Gravy Train Chunks in Gravy with T-Bone Flavor Chunks;
• Gravy Train Chunks in Gravy with Chicken Chunks;
• Gravy Train Strips in Gravy Beef Strips; and
• Gravy Train with Lamb & Rice Chunks.

The lawsuits claim the most likely way pentobarbital could end up in dog food would be through rendered animal products, which are produced by converting animal tissues to “feed ingredients.” These animal tissues can include that from animals that were euthanized, decomposed or diseased, the complaint continues.

Each similarly worded lawsuit takes issue with a statement issued by the defendant assuring consumers that the company was “confident in the safety” of its products and that no action needed to be taken. After this disclosure, however, Big Heart Pet Brands allegedly conceded that pentobarbital could unintentionally make its way into raw materials, a statement that preceded the company’s withdrawal of certain products from the marketplace, the suit states. The press release containing the aforementioned statement was later altered, with the revisions in effect amounting to the defendant tipping its hand, the lawsuit alleges.

“These changes to the press release suggest that [the defendant] knew the contaminated dog foods contained pentobarbital,” the lawsuit asserts.