Purina is refuting “on-line rumors” which have raised security issues about its Professional Plan pet meals, after some social media accounts alleged that the pet meals maker’s merchandise had sickened tons of of animals, principally canines but in addition cats.
The corporate final week moved to dispel issues shared in TikTok movies, a few of which had been considered by the hundreds, in addition to in a public Fb group with almost 67,000 members referred to as Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time.
The posts associated accounts of canines having seizures, diarrhea and vomiting, with some allegedly dying, which the pet homeowners claimed occured after the animals ate Purina Professional Plan meals. At present, the Meals and Drug Administration does not have a recall listed for any Purina merchandise.
“The false statements could also be creating pointless stress for pet dad and mom. There are not any well being or issues of safety with any of our merchandise, they usually can proceed to be fed with confidence,” the St. Louis-based subsidiary of Swiss conglomerate Nestlé stated final Friday in a web based assertion responding to what it referred to as “on-line rumors.”
As of January 11, the general public Fb group had acquired 729 anecdotal studies of sick animals (547 canines and 182 cats) within the U.S., Eire, U.Ok, Serbia, Hungry and Canada, together with 177 pet deaths, in accordance with efoodalert.
These behind the posts included “well-intentioned pet dad and mom who’re genuinely involved and attempting to be useful, whereas others could also be attempting to create chaos and mistrust of sure manufacturers as a chance to promote their very own merchandise,” Purina stated in its assertion.
Purina has investigated the claims made on-line, and “we’ve discovered no information or development that will point out a problem,” an organization spokesperson instructed CBS Monday on Friday in an emailed assertion. The situation “exposes a darkish facet of social media and the way it may be used to scare individuals who do not deserve it,” the spokesperson added.
Purina’s merchandise feed 114 million canines and cats a 12 months, and the corporate conducts greater than 100,000 high quality checks a day throughout its factories to make sure its pet meals is protected for animals, in accordance with the corporate.
The corporate in March 2023 recalled Purina Professional Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental prescription pet food on account of probably elevated ranges of vitamin D.