Can a popular brand of Dog Food really extended your pets’ life by 30%? Uncle Sam says “No Way” and has just settled false advertising charges with Mars Petcare. Turns out it’s Bernie’s Choice and he even won his division in the AKC/Eukanuba Nationals last fall.
Per the Feds:
“Mars Petcare U.S., Inc., has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it falsely advertised the health benefits of its Eukanuba brand dog food. Specifically, the FTC alleges that the company claimed, but could not prove, that a 10-year study found that dogs fed Eukanuba could extend their expected lifespan by 30 percent or more.
According to the FTC’s complaint, in 2015, Mars Petcare ran ads for Eukanuba on television, in print, and on the Internet, claiming that the dog food could increase the longevity of dogs’, based on a 10-year study of dogs that were fed Eukanuba and implying that the increase in lifespan was 30 percent or more.
One TV ad stated, for example:
“10 years ago, we launched a long life study. What we observed was astonishing. With Eukanuba and proper care, dogs in the study were able to live beyond their typical lifespan.” The ad then showed a dog named “Iowa” who was 17 years old, while “the typical Labrador lifespan: [is] 12 years.”
The implication was that Iowa had lived 30 percent longer than expected for her breed because she was fed Eukanuba.
The FTC alleges that the longevity claims are false or unsubstantiated and that the claim that longevity was proven through scientific evidence is false.”
Read the complete FTC agreement.
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