http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422055276

Animal Owners Seek Class Action Status in Suit Over Pet Food Additives
John Pacenti
Daily Business Review
June 10, 2008

Excerpt:

"Lead plaintiff's attorney Catherine MacIvor said people think of their pets as family members and should be assured the food they are feeding them is not dangerous.

"People deserve to know what they are getting when they buy food for their pets," said MacIvor, partner with Maltzman Foreman in Miami.

Attorneys for the pet food companies and other defendants were mum on the litigation as it heads into an expected contentious fight for documents that the defendants will consider proprietary.

U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga dealt defendants a blow on April 8 when she refused to dismiss the lawsuit against the substantive defendants.

The pet food companies claimed they are allowed to use words, such as "complete and balanced," "veterinarian recommended" and "natural" in advertising as authorized by the Association of American Feed Control Officials and approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The defense claims the allegations in the lawsuit castigating the entire pet food industry are culled from the Internet.

Altonaga didn't buy it.

"Defendants do not assert that the FDA or any other regulatory body has specifically approved the advertisement or statements at issue in this action, and nothing in the AAFCO standards authorizes defendants to engage in false advertising," Altonaga wrote in her order.

The 84-page, fourth-amended complaint filed April 11 names seven pet food manufacturers: Tennessee-based Mars Petcare, Ohio-based Iams, Kansas-headquartered Hill's Pet Nutrition -- makers of Science Diet, California-based Del Monte Foods, Missouri-based Nestle Purina Petcare, California-based Nutro Products and California-based Natura Pet Products.

Also named are some large retailers: Target, Wal-Mart, Publix Supermarkets, Kroger and Albertsons, as well as pet specialty stores PetSmart, Pet Supermarket, Petco Animal Supplies and Pet Supplies "Plus/USA."

Oh, it's the internet thingy defense.

http://www.mflegal.com/petfoodlawsuit

This is the main page for the Pet Food Class Action lawsuit at the Maltzman Foreman Law Offices website, where Ms. MacIvor works:

http://www.mflegal.com/files/Exhibits%201-29%20to%203rd%20Amended%20Complaint%20[DE333-2].pdf

Exhibits 1-29

http://www.mflegal.com/files/Exhibits%2030-35%20to%203rd%20Amended%20Complaint%20[DE333-3].pdf

Exhibits 30-35

Caution--files are rather large pdfs and there are some VERY graphic photos of a rendering plant in exhibits 30-35. A worker there remarked that when he had to pick up human bodies for this, he would quit.  But unless he killed the person or persons, he would onlt be guilty of wrongfully disposing of human bodies--people are non-traditional food mammals and there's no low against using non-traditional food mammals in rendering.

http://www.mflegal.com/files/deaddogsinfood.avi

Video of AAFCO official conceding that dead pets can be part of renderings.

http://www.mflegal.com/petfood/3rd%20Amended%20Complaint%20[DE%20333].pdf

The legal complaint--90 pages long

http://www.mflegal.com/petfoodlawsuit-contact.html

Link if you want to participate in this Class Action Suit.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Class_Action_Law_Suit_Filed_Against_Pet_Food_Companies

More on the suit--partial list of defendants:

"The Defendants targeted in the Complaint produce pet foods under a wide array of brands and names including: Pedigree®, Sheba®, Goodlife Recipe®, Royal Canine, Iams®, Eukanuba®, Science Diet®, Prescription Diet®, 9 Lives®, Amore®, Gravy Train®, Kibbles-n-Bits® and Nature's Recipe®, Snausages®, Milk Bone®, Pup-Peroni®, Meaty Bone®, Canine's Carry Outs®, Jerky Treats®, Wagwells®, Alpo®, Beneful®, Beggin' Strips®, Dog, Cat, Puppy and Kitten Chow®, Fancy Feast®, Friskies®, Mighty Dog®, Deli-Cat®, Pro Plan®, Purina One®, Natural Choice® Dog and Cat Products, Max® Dog Products, Max® Cat Gourmet Classics, Natural Choice® Complete Care® for cats, UltraTM Products for dogs, Americas Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Award, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Cadillac, Companion, Compliments, Demoulus Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Food Town, Giant Companion, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, J.E. Mondou, Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Medi-Cal, Meijer's Main Choice, Mighty Dog Pouch, Mixables, Natural Life, Nutriplan, Nutro Max, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Ol' Roy, Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride, President's Choice, Price Chopper, Priority US, Publix, Roche Brothers, Save-a-Lot Special Blend, Schnucks, Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans, Sophistacat, Special Kitty, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Stop and Shop Companion, Tops Companion, Wegmans, Weis Total Pet, Western family US, White Rose, Winn Dixie, Your Pet, LIFELongTM, Ol' Roy and Special Kitty brands of pet food."