Consumers Taking on Purina

In class this summer, we’ve been talking a lot about the consumers and organizations taking on brands, and the impact social media is having on that success.  Lately in the pet industry, manufactures of chicken jerky dog treats produced in China, Purina in particular have been taking a lot of heat. 

Since 2007, a blog post on MSNBC.com states that complaints have been rolling into the FDA of dogs who are being diagnosed with kidney failure and liver disease after eating chicken jerky treats that are specifically manufactured in China. I was working at an animal emergency clinic in 2007 when this problem first surfaced, and we saw case after case of young, healthy dogs in renal failure. Young dogs don’t just go into renal failure, and the one commonality they all had was their owners had fed them these treats. The FDA has been warning consumers since 2007 about jerky treats, and yet there have been no recalls issued because the FDA has been unable to specifically pin-point the cause of illnesses. 

Enter social media.  A petition on change.org has 63,000 signatures urging Purina to recall its treats, there are videos on YouTube, and the Facebook page "Animal Parents Against Food and Treats Made In China" has over 2500 likes.  Google chicken jerky recall and you will find article after article filled with stories of owners whose pets became ill after eating these treats.  You have to wonder what Purina is thinking by hiding behind a statement saying that all of those dogs could have become sick due to some other reason.  If the FDA does find a connection, their brand reputation will be irreparably trashed.