Lawsuit Investigation Looks into Champion’s Acana, Orijen Pet Food

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether class action lawsuits can be filed on behalf of consumers who purchased certain Acana and Orijen dog and cat food products labeled as containing “free-run poultry” or “wild-caught fish.”

Two advocacy groups have accused the maker of the products, Champion Petfoods, of false and deceptive advertising, claiming that the cat and dog foods actually contain farm-raised fish and meat from chickens raised in indoor, inhumane conditions.

In light of these claims, attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether consumers can start a class action against Champion to get back some of the money they spent on the products under investigation.

What Dog and Cat Foods Are Under Investigation?

The following Acana and Orijen pet food products are under investigation over their “free-run poultry” claims:

The following Acana dog and cat foods are under investigation over their “wild-caught fish” claims:

Advocacy Lawsuits Accuse Champion Petfoods of False, Deceptive Advertising

In the summer of 2020, two advocacy groups sued Champion Petfoods challenging the company’s product representations and asking for an end to what the lawsuits call “deceptive marketing.”

Wild-Caught Fish Claims

In July 2020, non-profit organization Animal Equality accused Champion Petfoods of misleading consumers into believing some of its Acana dog and cat foods were made with only wild-caught fish.

The lawsuit also pointed to a page on Champion’s website that describes the company’s freshwater fish as “fresh, whole and wild” and claims its rainbow trout is “sustainably caught by fishermen we know and trust.”

Despite these representations, the fish supplying Champion’s dog and cat foods is from Idaho, where the vast majority of rainbow trout comes from large industrial fish farms, the lawsuit says.

In fact, laboratory testing commissioned by Animal Equality revealed that one of Champion’s “wild-caught” products tested positive for ethoxyquin, a chemical widely used as a feed additive in fish farming operations. According to the lawsuit, presence of this chemical indicates that the fish in the food was farmed and gave Animal Equality “reasonable confirmation” that Champion’s wild-caught representations are false.

Free-Run Poultry Claims

Just weeks after the “wild-caught fish” lawsuit was filed, Organic Consumers Association, a non-profit out of Minnesota, sued Champion claiming that the chickens supplying its “free-run poultry” dog and cat food products are “confined in crowded barns without outdoor access” and that the pet food was therefore falsely advertised. Specifically, the suit took issue with product packaging showing chickens outside on grass, icons describing the chickens as “free run,” and statements that the birds used in Champion’s products are “raised...by people we know and trust, on family-run American farms.”  

Champion even included on its website a picture of “Todd of Clark Farms” to show the public one of the farmers the company “knows and trusts.”

According to the suit, Tyson raises and kills chickens using “bare minimum standards” that explicitly allow for practices that “severely restrict birds’ freedom of movement” and “allow severely cramped conditions and the manipulation of the growth rate of the birds to grow unnaturally and painfully large.”

As a result, Champion cannot reasonably claim that the chickens used in the Acana and Orijen pet food at issue had free access to the outdoors and were “raised under the highest standards for animal care,” the suit suggests.

Why Is a Class Action Needed If Champion Has Already Been Sued?

The lawsuits detailed above seek only to force Champion to change the way it advertises its pet food. (In fact, Champion has already removed the “free-run poultry” representation from its products in response to the Organic Consumers Association’s lawsuit.)

The suits are not seeking money for those who bought the products, which is where a class action lawsuit could help.

What Could I Get from a Class Action?

Consumers are willing to pay a premium for products, including pet food, that they believe come from humanely treated animals – meaning they may have overpaid if Champion’s products were falsely advertised. A class action lawsuit, if filed and successful, could help consumers get their money back.

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