Prescription Pet Food Class Action Lawsuit

[Dottie]

David has posted this on the All About Dog Food Facebook page. It refers to legal action being take in the USA re prescription diets:

Big news: Several legal firms in the States are putting together a class action law suit against the prescription pet food manufacturers Hill's, Purina, Royal Canin and Iams!

Link
It will be interesting to see how this develops, and what the judgement will be.

[Pegasus]

This has brought a big smile to my face - the word 'prescription' is a complete misnomer when applied to foods. Medicines need to be prescribed and vet meds have different classifications - VOM, AVM-GSL etc with only suitably qualified people being able to sell them. These prescription foods have no classifications as they are not meds, they are just food. It took a lot of digging but I finally found the ingredients of a tin of 'prescription' wet dog food - (the company wouldn't give me the ingredients over the phone because I wasn't a qualified vet) - it was written in tiny print on  the inside of the label - ingredients - cereal and cereal derivatives, meat and meat derivatives - more or less the same as Chappie but a bit more expensive at £2.80 for a 240g tin! Hope they win or even just highlight this 'con'. Only thing is I can't see anyone on this side of the pond having the clout to stand up to the likes of Nestle and Mars, perhaps only the EU.

[Seaweed]

Perhaps this news will encourage UK Vets to have a good look at what they are recommending to their clients. Thankfully we do have raw food vets http://rawfoodvets.com/vets/
The documentary film "Pet Fooled" investigating the American dog food industry is out in America. There are various bits and bobs on YouTube about this film.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pet+fooled

[Dottie]

It's surely when we are at our most vulnerable

Excellent point Meg and one which I had not considered. I am sure that pet owners can make better choices with a bit of advice, knowledge and support.

[Pet Direction Andy]

This whole subject is one that has taken so many lumps out of me, to the point that I more often that not, shudder at the advice a vet has given, concerning these foods

I am sure there will be plenty of retailers/producers out there, that feel punch drunk, like myself.

I am in a constant battle with those that sell these foods, with no attention being paid to the actual content. The addition of an amino acid that "may" help skin regeneration, to a garbage food= a garbage food. It is often the known allergens in the food that are causing the problem.... and around and around we go. In very rare cases concerning the digestion of proteins, these foods are a necessary evil, but there is no excuse for them to be bulked with rubbish, other than profit.

The vet selling the poor quality food and banging in the steroid for the skin, on the same visit, is not uncommon..... and the quickest way to lose in excess of £100.

I had a 90 yr old paying almost double this figure regularly, including various potions and shampoos. I closed up for the afternoon and visited him personally. £30+ worth of proper food solved this problem and stopped the vet expenditure permanently. No more red dog. Despite being informed of this simple solution, the vet continues to practice like this.

There are charlatans in wet, dry and raw production, but the public are growing wiser by the day, despite the adverts getting smarter.