On June 26, 2017, a class action lawsuit was file in California against Blue Buffalo Pet Products for Negligent Misrepresentation, violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violations of the California False Advertising Law, violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, breach of Express Warranty, breach of Implied Warranty, and Negligence per se. The suit was filed due to substantial evidence of dangerously high levels of lead in many of their dry dog food formulations, including Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs, Blue Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs, and Blue Basics Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs.
The contaminated dog foods contained lead, which is a known carcinogen and developmental toxin that builds up in the body over time with chronic exposure. Chronic lead accumulation can lead to cancer, developmental and reproductive disorders, and serious injuries to the nervous system and other organs. Dogs are more prone to this accumulation since they eat the same meal multiple times every day for extended periods of time. Lead poisoning in dogs occurs when the concentration of lead in the dog's blood reaches levels that start to cause symptoms. Symptoms include lack of appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation then diarrhea, chomping of jaws, blindness, seizures, muscle spasms, behavior changes, anxiety, circling, and incoordination. Liver enzymes may be elevated.
Blue Buffalo advertises their products as "Healthy" and "Holistic", which is very far from the truth. FDA has set acceptable levels of lead in bottled drinking water at 5 ppb (parts per billion). These three Blue Buffalo products tested positive for lead at 200 ppb in the Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs, 140 ppb in the Blue Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs, and 840 ppb in the Blue Basics Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs.
Pets that have been exposed to high levels of lead through food, water, or environmental toxins should undergo therapy to cleanse the liver and provide antioxidant support. CoQ10, N-acetylcysteine, Sam-e, milk thistle, buffered vitamin C, green tea, bentonite clay, and curcumin (found in turmeric) are a few options.
Advertising products as healthy and holistic when they contain life-threatening levels of lead certainly seems like false advertising and breach of implied warranty if you ask me. But I'm not a lawyer. I'm just trying to keep pets healthy.
Feed real food from high quality sources. Stop paying your hard earned money to big pet food companies that are poisoning your pets.
