thanks for sharing. interesting indeed...

 

Great, and it looks like it's been going on a long time.....

 

I used to feed Evo about 5 years ago, before we went raw with the dogs. So I guess I'm in the window.

 

I don't normally get involved with crap like that but...when it comes to MowMow it makes me mad. I had 7 months worth of receipts to provide them.

 

Nice that they're only giving money to the US people, what about Canadians who fed that food during those times? Jerks.

I didn't really read it all since it won't apply to me anyhow, but does it say you need to provide proof? I mean, who has really KEPT containers/receipts from that long ago?

 

Nice that they're only giving money to the US people, what about Canadians who fed that food during those times? Jerks.

Well it's a lawsuit filed in the USA, I'm guessing someone in Canada will have to sue to recover damages in that country.


anyway about the rest

Plaintiffs claim Natura violated California’s Business and Professions Code when advertising their dog and cat food products. It also claims that Natura made false and misleading statements about the human grade quality of its food in its advertisements, promotional materials and labeling.

Call me a cynic but I wish I had much more detailed info on the case. AFAIK there is no legal definition of the term human grade for pet food. So I'm wondering if the issue is with them using the term, the same way the milk lobby tried to sue to get BGH free off the label because they claimed it implied that BGH was bad or unhealthy ( obviously I'm paraphrasing LOL).

Or did they really and truly mislabel their product?

 

It does have an option to check if you do NOT have receipts. Since I buy my stuff online I was able to screenprint my invoices and attach them to the claim.

 

Humph! We have receipts - I save 'em to see how much I've spent on Gracie (although honestly I have never dared tally them!) so I am going to submit a form. I get offended when companies lie about these sorts of details - organic versus conventional, 'human grade' versus 'animal grade', etc. Look at China for an extreme example of that dishonesty run rampant ~ poisoned babies etc. etc.

Fran

 

blech on that 5 minute rule

Also another cynical line of thinking, doesn't this settlement ( which is really low) come with an agreement that they will no longer label or advertise their foods as human grade, in which case P&G can remove the term from packaging while claiming they are forced to and no longer be held to the same standard of quality for Natura pet foods as we have come to know it before being bought out?

 

I would also like to see more details about the allegations in this lawsuit and why the plaintiff believes that Natura cannot substantiate it's claims. I suspect this is all about semantics in an industry where marketing terms are not well defined.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled.

Pet Food

The USDA has two sets of criteria for meat grading. There is a mandatory requirement for safety that applies to all meat being used in human or pet food. So yes, even Walmart brand must meet this requirement. Then there is the voluntary inspection for quality, this is where meats are graded "prime", "choice" etc. Even the lowest quality grades end up in human foods (in hamburger, canned meats etc.)

Inspection & Grading of Meat and Poultry: What Are the Differences?

There is no legal definition for "human grade ingredients". AAFCO has stated that this is a term that cannot be used on pet food labels. Yet many companies use it on their advertising and websites because AAFCO does not regulate those areas.

AAFCO has declared that using the term "human grade" is "false and misleading" to quote AAFCO in a letter sent to pet food manufacturers in (March 2004) Section IV – Pet Food Label Claims – Page 66 Section E. "Claims that a product contains or is made from ingredients that are “human grade”, “human quality”, “people foods”, “ingredients you (the purchaser) would eat” “food(s) that you (the purchaser) would feed your family” or similar claims are false and misleading..." Note that AAFCO actually has no official definition of human grade ingredients.

Meat by-product - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My opinion on this is that Natura got caught up in marketing hype that many of their competitors are using and they're the ones that got called out on the carpet for using terms that have no legal meaning and therefore can be considered misleading. They settled because they don't have a leg to stand on, but neither do any of the other companies making the same claims and I suspect you'll see many companies changing their marketing collateral based on this lawsuit...they won't want to be next.

This doesn't mean the food quality is bad. It doesn't mean they lied and are using 3 day old roadkill. It doesn't mean that their food quality is any worse than any of their direct competitors (Wellness, Nature's Variety, Weruva etc.). It just means that the marketing terms they used are not legitimate. (Note...further information may come out on this situation and I may be completely wrong...this is just my opinion based on the little info available)

Oh...and don't count on getting $200 checks in the mail. By the time the lawyers are finished, the consumers will be lucky to get pennies. And it could very will be issued in coupons.

 

Thanks much, Kimberly, for bringing this to our attention.

FWIW, IMO this is a gift, to anyone who files a claim and gets anything back. Having read the docs, to me the pertinent info is as follows:

1. You can get back a maximum of $200. It is cash, not coupons--or at least the Notice only refers to cash. You likely will get much less, because...

2. Of the $2.15 million settlement amount, up to $650,000 can be used to pay attorneys' fees, another $60,000 for miscellaneous expenses, another $20,000 for other expenses, and up to $400,000 to administer the fund. In other words, there will be about $1 million left to distribute.

3. That said, it doesn't hurt to file a Claim You don't have to have receipts, so long as you can truthfully check the box swearing that you purchased one of the products during the period mentioned. I have labels from unused cans, bags and boxes (of 12 cans) of Evo purchased a couple of months ago, and you can include labels if you have them.

4. Payments will not be made before May 2012, and possibly later. So don't spend the money ahead of time, lol. The Notice doesn't say so, but if the claims exceed the settlement amount, they pro rate, so you might get $200, $100, or enough for a short taxi ride. But it's a gift, IMO, I still consider EVO to be really high quality, and my Fab Four love it, plus the 12.5 ounce cans are the biggest bargain around for high-quality food. And they love it, have I mentioned that?

 

1. You can get back a maximum of $200. It is cash, not coupons--or at least the Notice only refers to cash. You likely will get much less, because...

I mentioned coupons because it seems that any class action I have ever registered for ending up being coupons. The worst one was a $1700 Toshiba laptop that spent 7 of the first 13 weeks I had it in repair because it kept crashing to blue screen. It worked for 2 years after that and it started happening again. Since it was out of warranty I opted to buy a new laptop rather than pay to replace the mother board. A couple years later I was notified of a class action suit...I ended up with a big $40 coupon towards a new Toshiba laptop. Yeah like I'll ever buy another Toshiba product. And $40 wasn't nearly enough restitution for the problems I went through with that laptop.

So my opinion on class action suits is pretty low....

 

I really haven't followed to politics of the pet food industry since up until I got the kittens a few weeks ago I hadn't fed commercial food in years. But I suspect that this is all about protecting the mainstream pet food lobby, because they don't want their product to seem inferior. But I also do not trust P&G one bit either and I have no confidence in Natura Pet line since they bought it.

 

But I also do not trust P&G one bit either and I have no confidence in Natura Pet line since they bought it.

I read that the Innova labels/ingredients now include Menadione Sodium Bisulfite.
To me, that's the first actual sign of the brand going down the crapper.

 

Did anyone notice a date when this lawsuit was filed? It would be interesting to know if it was filed after the P&G acquisition...basically someone seeing the opportunity to go after deep pockets...

 

When I read through all the articles and claim stuff somewhere it said that the suit was filed just before the buy out.

 

Thanks...now that you mention it, I remember seeing that.

 

$200? Yeah right. More like $2.

 

I'm furious with pet food companies! I mean it. I have been feeding my animals Iams because, well my parents did and I was under the misguided impression Iams was a good caring company. Then my cat gets diagnosed with CRF and I start researching like a mad-obsessed-crazy person and have found out a ton about the true lack of useful ingredients in most pet food. WHAT is wrong with these companies?!?!

 

Part of the issue is that there are some regulations in the industry, but there are built in loop holes for those regulations. So ultimately they can get away with anything they want.

The respectable companies (though few and far between) actually care about people's animals, so they do what's right regardless.

 

It's worth noting, that as doodlebug said, this doesn't necessarily mean they've been lying about their ingredients. It's a matter of what terminology is allowed to be used.

Ziwi Peak recently had to remove all "human grade ingredients" labels from their food as well for the same reason, although they issued a statement explaining that this was merely due policy, not any change in their ingredients.

 

It's worth noting, that as doodlebug said, this doesn't necessarily mean they've been lying about their ingredients. It's a matter of what terminology is allowed to be used.

Very true. Though the fact that they are now using a controversial synthetic Vitamin K (which they weren't using previously) is kinda sketchy in my opinion.

I'm not trying to single Natura out, but I think people who feed their food should know.

 

hrmph

My frustration is not solely directly at the companies. It's also with myself. I should have been doing personal research about pet food all along not waiting until there was a problem. I was "content" with my parents having used Iams and what I thought I knew about the food/company. I have since (as of Saturday) switched to Acava pet food for my healthy animals. Livia is having to eat her prescription k/d Hills food. I have noticed Margaret is eating a lot less bc the food actually fills her up. Despite the food initially costing more, in the long run it will even out or even be less.

 

My frustration is not solely directly at the companies. It's also with myself. I should have been doing personal research about pet food all along not waiting until there was a problem. I was "content" with my parents having used Iams and what I thought I knew about the food/company. I have since (as of Saturday) switched to Acava pet food for my healthy animals. Livia is having to eat her prescription k/d Hills food. I have noticed Margaret is eating a lot less bc the food actually fills her up. Despite the food initially costing more, in the long run it will even out or even be less.

I feel the same way as you. I could kill myself for not keeping up on research over the many years we fed Nutro. Ultimately, we believe it contributed to his death in January. If you look at my past threads, you can read my story.

And yes, feeding a "safe" (or safer) food to our pets will result in them eating less and being more healthy....which results in less $$ spent in the long run on more food and potential vet bills.

 

Ugh seems like other folks are having issues with evo too. I have been a kitty owner for 2 months so I can't tell you if I've noticed any changes but I am truly disappointed as I use the dry and wet food heavily in our kittens food rotation. Now, on a hunt for alternatives...

 

Ugh seems like other folks are having issues with evo too. I have been a kitty owner for 2 months so I can't tell you if I've noticed any changes but I am truly disappointed as I use the dry and wet food heavily in our kittens food rotation. Now, on a hunt for alternatives...

Wow. I skimmed through some of that thread. Sounds waaaay too familiar!
The same things happened with Nutro years ago. We started noticing the kibble was different size, different color. And we even had a bag that, when we started feeding from it, Sumo would immediately vomit after eating it. Took it back for a different bag, and the new bag was fine (well, no vomiting). I'm sure this was back around the same time that Mars took over Nutro.

Same ****, different toilet.