Purina Pet Food Online Scandal - What Happened?

Summary of Purina Pet Food Adverse Event Reports (November 22, 2023 - April 15, 2024), FDA Actions and Findings

Adverse Events

In late November 2023, the FDA began to receive an increased frequency of adverse event reports about a variety of companion animal illnesses (largely dogs, a few cats) that pet owners attributed to pet food. Initially, the reports were mostly about products made by Nestle Purina Pet Care (Purina), but as publicity and social media discussion increased, so did the array of brands and products mentioned in reports submitted to the FDA.

Most of the clinical signs (symptoms) described in dogs and cats included gastrointestinal (e.g., diarrhea, vomiting), renal (kidney), hepatic (liver), and/or neurological (e.g., seizures) symptoms. Gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common type of report. Gastrointestinal symptoms can be associated with pet food, abrupt dietary changes, or many other factors, such as existing health issues, exposure to chemicals or contaminants, consumption of foods or substances without the pet owner’s knowledge, and certain medications.

As part of case follow-up, FDA veterinarians try to determine the potential causes of illness through owner interviews, diagnostic testing at the time of the illness, and testing of both opened and unopened food from the same lot as the suspect food.

FDA Response Activities
Adverse Event Report Follow-Up
The FDA received approximately 1,300 adverse event reports for a variety of Purina pet foods between November 22, 2023, and April 15, 2024.

After initial review of the adverse event reports, veterinarians from the FDA’s Office of Surveillance and Compliance and FDA’s Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN) identified 107 reports that contained sufficient information for follow-up, and met the selection criteria below:

Owner’s willingness to be contacted for additional information
Type of symptoms reported (primarily gastrointestinal, hepatic and neurologic cases were selected)
Time between the illness and submission of report (prioritizing recent illness)
Availability of veterinary medical records
Availability of product with lot number and best-by date

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