Pet food maker Purina is struggling after a flood of online allegations that its Purina Pro Plan products are causing pets to become sick and die after experiencing symptoms including “dizziness, vomiting , diarrhea, muscle weakness, seizures, rapid weight loss and rectal bleeding,” NBC News reported.
Rumors began to spread in the Facebook Group Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time. An administrator of the group said he received reports of the Purina Pro Plan infecting 969 cats and dogs, with 234 reported deaths. As often happens in the social media sphere, the rumors spread beyond their first home on Facebook and on TikTok, where the algorithm caused them to go wild.
But Purina said it could find no evidence of a problem.
In a statement posted on their website This week, the Purina team wrote:
Because of the rumor, our Quality Assurance team reviews all incoming consumer contacts, manufacturing, and quality assurance data (this includes ingredient analysis, analytical data throughout the production process, and quality analysis after production) for the past year, and we found no data or trends to indicate an issue. We continue to stay on top of this situation, and rest assured that if the possibility of a real issue arises, we will act quickly and make sure our consumers have the information they need.
Purina also said the Facebook Group’s administrator refused to share data, including food samples and veterinary records, which it said would help them investigate properly.
“Without more information, we are unable to investigate despite being more than willing to do so,” said a Purina spokesperson.
Why it matters: A scary scenario, especially for people who have lost a beloved pet. Regardless of the cause of death, no one can find it without cooperation. If Purina is to blame, the company cannot find the source of the problem without more information and cooperation from pet owners. If Purina isn’t to blame, fixing them prevents everyone from finding the real culprit as pets get sick and die.
Purina’s statement is clear, expressing empathy for pet owners and their fears while mincing no words: It’s not them. The brand explained exactly how its teams were investigating the incident, including looking for patterns in the data, and made it clear they were ready to take action if they found an issue.
This issue isn’t going away for Purina anytime soon, it seems. Its path forward requires continued transparency and consistent messaging about its actions, as well as maintaining social listening to understand if there is a real problem and how accusations are linked to the brand.
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