Now if you have been a pet parent for long, you must have heard about the lawsuit case between Purina and Blue Buffalo.
For those who don’t know, Purina filed a lawsuit against Blue Buffalo claiming that the latter manufacturer used animal-by products and other controversial ingredients within their diet, which however wasn’t mentioned in their list of ingredients. This led to a huge backlash on the food manufacturer’s brand, even resulting in Blue Buffalo not being recommended by vets or canine nutritional experts.
But is the claim true or a low-handed trial of creating a negative impression on the name of a well-known dog food brand. Let’s unveil the minutes of this very case in detail now.
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Purina Vs Blue Buffalo- The Lawsuit
On May 6, 2014, the Nestle Purina PetCare, a huge dog food manufacturer and conglomerate took to the US court claiming that Blue Buffalo was inconsistent with their “True Blue Promise”. In layman’s terms it meant that the company was not heeding to its own claim of “formulated with the finest natural ingredients” and “no chicken/poultry by-products meals; no corn, wheat or soy; and no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors”.
At that time, even though nothing was proved, it caused a huge backlash on the marketing and reputation of all Blue Buffalo products. Thousands and thousands of food bags were retracted back to the main factory, with more and more pawrents showing their criticism for the above-said products on all platforms.
As a result, even Blue Buffalo joined the lawsuit by counter-suing Purina of defamation, unfair competition, false advertising and violations of trade practice statutes. The case ran a very long time, however the turning point was when Blue Buffalo finally acknowledged using ‘substantial”and ‘material” portions of poultry-by products in their feeds. This was on May 6, 2015 after which the company had to pay a staggering US$32 million under the terms of the agreement as settlement fund.
What is the Aftermath of the Lawsuit?
Even though Blue Buffalo found itself having to recall most of its food bags, there were a plethora of other complications that followed through. For instance, according to a study, it was found that Wilton-based Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc. was cited as one of the 16 dog food brands with an increased risk of canine congestive heart failure.
This study was done by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which was then published in July 2018. As per the findings, Blue Buffalo feed contributed to the sixth highest number of Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) related deaths, making it a high-risk canine feed.
This however did not incur any public response from Blue Buffalo’s side, and moreover FDA also didn’t ask the company to withdraw its supplies from the main market. The main reason behind this is speculated to be the involvement of multiple factors in the occurrence of DCM in canines. Instead of this, dog parents were asked to consult with vets and plan their canine’s feeding likewise.
So, Why is Blue Buffalo not Recommended by Vets?
Apart from being sued for not keeping their “True Blue Promise” and being specified as one of the 16 dog food brands with higher risk of DCM, another reason why most vets don’t like the feeding manufacturer might be due to its higher risks of allergic reactions.
There have been a number of complaints, where every now and then pawrents have come together to condemn the composition of the feed. However, this may not be entirely due to the Blue Buffalo feed or its ingredients. Some dogs may be allergic to the contents, and therefore not consulting with a vet before switching could be triggering the reactions.
Is Blue Buffalo really bad?
Statistically speaking, Blue Buffalo isn’t the only major dog food name that has been found guilty of risking the lives of our canines. There have been many other popular pet brands that have been involved in many such controversies over the period. This includes many major pet food brands, and therefore categorizing the whole pet food brand as ‘bad for canines’ isn’t a fair thing to do.
Moreover, even FDA has concluded that a few batches of Blue Buffalo bags were found to be carrying these harmful components, which has later been recalled by the company itself. However, given the very controversial past of the pet food manufacturing company, there is still a lot of doubt and skepticism amongst both pet parents, canine nutritional experts and even vets.
So, what is the main composition of Blue Buffalo?
Now even though Blue Buffalo had its ups and downs in the past, they have one of the best nutritional compositions in the market as a canine food manufacturer and supplier. They take pride in composing their food bags with real meat, whole grains and vegetables, although some variants may even consist of other additional ingredients.
Here are a few common ingredients that Blue Buffalo comprises of:
- Real whole meat includes of Turkey, Chicken, and Fish
- Whole grains like Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal
- Vegetables such as Sweet Potatoes, Carrots and Peas
Some additional components include:
- Fruits
- Vitamins and Minerals
- Glucosamine and Chondroitin
- Probiotics
Finally, to make it safe, Blue Buffalo bags don’t have corn, soy, or wheat which are the leading causes of many canine health disorders. So, if your pupper’s vet recommends using Blue Buffalo feed for your canine, then you are good to go, but if they don’t, it’s better to choose another pet food brand offering similar nutritional enrichments.
In this blog, we covered everything that is there to know about Blue Buffalo and their safety as a canine pet feed. We hope that we were able to cover all your doubts and confusions regarding this very subject. But if you would like us to cover more grounds regarding the same, don’t forget to comment down your questions in the comment section, and we will make sure to respond to them as quickly as possible.
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