Big Heart Pet Brands Fails to Exit Suit Over ‘Grain Free’ Claims

Big Heart Pet Brands Inc. must face a would-be California class suit alleging it deceptively marketed Nature’s Recipe dog food, after a federal court in California said plaintiffs plausibly alleged that pet owners would be fooled by the company’s claims that the dog food was grain-free and contained no corn or soy.

Paula Rice-Sherman and others alleged independent testing of Nature’s Recipe food confirmed that the company’s representations are false because the product contains contain significant amounts of corn and soy.

The plaintiffs adequately alleged reasonable consumers are likely to understand Big Heart’s “Grain Free,” “No Corn,” and “No Soy ...