Skip to content
i Still Love Dogs
i Still Love Dogs

…Dog news, tips & fun stuff

  • News
  • Awww
  • Heroes
  • Grrr
  • Tips
  • Pittie Party
  • About
i Still Love Dogs

…Dog news, tips & fun stuff

beneful dry kibble lawsuit

Class Action Lawsuit Says Beneful Sickened or Killed Thousands of Dogs

Laura Goldman, February 24, 2015August 19, 2019

MARCH 13, 2015 UPDATE: Two U.S. senators have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate the lawsuit’s claims and provide updates about measures being taken to prevent the contamination of pet food.

beneful dry kibble lawsuit

Thousands of dogs have been sickened or died after eating Beneful dry kibble, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Feb. 5 against the Nestlé Purina Petcare Company.

The suit says the food’s main ingredient — propylene glycol, which is also a component of automotive antifreeze (!) — is toxic to dogs. This ingredient apparently helps keep the kibble moist, but it has lead to problems including internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures, bloat or kidney failure in at least 3,000 dogs who digested it, according to the lawsuit.

On its website, Nestlé Purina says propylene glycol is safe: It’s “an FDA-approved food additive that’s also in human foods like salad dressing and cake mix.” Well, that’s good to know.

The lawsuit says Beneful may also contain mycotoxins, which are toxic byproducts of mold.

Frank Lucido, who filed the suit in a California federal court, said he began feeding his three dogs Beneful dry dog food in December. Within a month, all three began suffering stomach and liver problems. His English Bulldog died on Jan. 23 due to internal bleeding and lesions on his liver. His other two dogs, a German Shepherd and Labrador, are showing similar symptoms.

These were far from being isolated cases. According to the lawsuit, there are thousands of complaints on the internet (including several hundred on ConsumerAffairs.com) “about dogs becoming ill, in many cases very seriously ill, and/or dying after eating Beneful.”

All of these dogs had the same symptoms — mainly vomiting and liver problems.

“If it’s a hundred or so, it’s like, ‘Okay, a lot of dogs eat Beneful; things happen,’” Jeff Cereghino, one of Lucido’s attorneys, told The Daily Beast today. “But when I look at 4,000? Holy hell, there’s a lot of people out here.”

Cereghino said he plans to send the Beneful food he and others in the class action suit have saved to a lab to be tested for mycotoxins. The lawsuit will enable pet parents to know if there’s a “connecting piece in the storage or the grain, the sourcing of it all, that sort of make sense,” he told The Daily Beast.

The lawsuit charges Nestlé Purina with breach of implied warranty; breach of express warranty; negligence; negligent misrepresentation; strict products liability; violating California’s consumer legal remedies act; violating California’s Unfair Competition Law; and violating California’s False Advertising Law.

Lucido wants the lawsuit to represent two classes, according to Top Class Actions: a nationwide class and a California subclass for pet parents “who purchased Beneful dog food in the past four years and who incurred any out of pocket costs due to illness, injury or death of their dog resulting from the ingestion of Beneful.”

The lawsuit asks that Nestlé Purina Petcare Company pay actual, statutory and punitive damages to all those filed under it, and forfeit profits earned from the sale of Beneful dry kibble.

Not too surprisingly, Nestlé Purina Petcare Company does not think the lawsuit has any merit.

“We intend to vigorously defend ourselves,” Keith Schopp, vice president of corporate public relations, said in a statement to The Daily Beast.

“Beneful is a high-quality nutritious food enjoyed by millions of dogs each year and there are no product quality issues with Beneful.”

FEB. 26 UPDATE: Nestlé Purina Officially Responds to Lawsuit

In a statement on its Beneful FAQs website Feb. 26, Nestlé Purina repeated what Schopp had told The Daily Beast about Beneful being “high-quality, nutritious food.” It calls the lawsuit “baseless” and blames social media for spreading “false information”:

“As pet owners ourselves, our priority is the health and well-being of the millions of dogs who enjoy Beneful. We take these allegations very seriously and stand by our product, which is backed by Purina’s strict quality controls and comprehensive food safety program.

Unfortunately, class action suits are common these days. They are not indicative of a product issue. In fact, we’ve faced two such suits in the past with similar allegations. Both were found to be baseless and were subsequently dismissed by the courts.

Adding to the confusion, social media outlets can be a source of false or incomplete information, as many other pet food brands have experienced themselves.

We at Beneful want you, our valued customers, to know that this lawsuit is baseless; you can continue to feel confident feeding your dogs our food. We stand committed to our Brand, our products and your pets.”

The company stated that anyone with questions should call 800-877-7551 or go to its website for “a behind-the-scenes look into how the Purina Nutrition Research team evaluates the safety and ingredients of Beneful dog food.”

Photo credit: Jason Meredith

Related

News BenefulNestle Purina Petcare Company

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Recent Posts

  • Dogs—Not Cats—May Prevent Babies from Developing Asthma
  • Rest in Paradise, Patrick the Miracle Dog
  • Guide Dog Terrified by Thunder Led Blind Owner to Safety on 9/11
  • Once Again, Adopted Dogs Featured in 2025 Rose Parade
  • 7 Examples That Prove Trump Is Clueless About Dogs

Most “Paw”pular Posts

  • Due to 'Pit Bulls and Parolees' Lawsuit, New Villalobos Sanctuary Planned
  • 5 Reasons Why Jon Stewart Is So Doggone Awesome
  • Frank Sinatra Loved the Ladies...and the Dogs
  • Rape Charges Dropped Against Toney Converse of 'Pit Bulls and Parolees'
  • Leonard Nimoy's L.A. Pet Store Did Not Live Long or Prosper

Like i Still Love Dogs on Facebook

Like i Still Love Dogs on Facebook

Follow @iStillLoveDogs on BlueSky

Follow @iStillLoveDogs on BlueSky

Subscribe to i Still Love Dogs

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts. I respect your privacy and will never sell your information.

Privacy Policy

about Laura Goldman
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
©2025 i Still Love Dogs | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish.Got it! Reject Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT