The Truth About Pet Food reported on a pet food class action lawsuit that was thrown out in Nevada. Owners who purchased WalMart’s house brand Ol’ Roy canned food felt deceived by the product’s “Made in USA” language on the label. This product was one of those that included Chinese ingredients tainted with melamine. The judge’s ruling in the case said it could only go forward if each and every consumer had purchased the product based solely on the “Made in USA’ claim and apparently the judge felt they had not. With my marketing hat on, I can see his point, the price, distribution and flavor of the dog food probably were greater influences on the initial purchase. By the time the Chinese ingredients were implicated I suspect affected product was off the shelves – and that’s when the USA claim would have had more appeal. I also suspect, to use an automotive analogy that the product was “assembled” in the USA. I understand from what I’ve read in the Whole Dog Journal and Pet Food Politics, very few people in the pet food manufacturing process know exactly where ingredients come from; and fewer are willing to share the information. From a pet owner standpoint, this is a disappointing decision in that it shows how difficult it is to get accurate information about commercial pet foods.
