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 lots of of animals, principally canine but additionally cats.
The corporate final week moved to dispel issues shared in TikTok movies, a few of which had been seen by the 1000’s, in addition to in a public Fb group with almost 67,000 members known as Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time.
The posts associated accounts of canine having seizures, diarrhea and vomiting, with some allegedly dying, which the pet house owners claimed occured after the animals ate Purina Professional Plan meals. At the moment, the Meals and Drug Administration would not have a recall listed for any Purina merchandise.
“The false statements could also be creating pointless stress for pet mother and father. There aren’t any well being or issues of safety with any of our merchandise, and so they 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 known as “on-line rumors.”
As of January 11, the general public Fb group had obtained 729 anecdotal stories of sick animals (547 canine and 182 cats) within the U.S., Eire, U.Okay, Serbia, Hungry and Canada, together with 177 pet deaths, in response to efoodalert.
These behind the posts included “well-intentioned pet mother and father who’re genuinely involved and making an attempt to be useful, whereas others could also be making an attempt 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 pattern that will point out a difficulty,” 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 canine 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 response to the corporate.
The corporate in March 2023 recalled Purina Professional Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental prescription pet food as a result of doubtlessly elevated ranges of vitamin D.
