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District Court Certifies 23(b)(3) Class Action Alleging Injury from Misrepresentations That Pet Food Was “Healthy” Despite Presence of PFAS
Earlier this month, a federal district court in California certified a class claiming economic injury caused by alleged misrepresentations regarding pet food ingredients. The class alleges that the pet food advertises its ingredients as healthful when in fact the products contained allegedly harmful chemicals, including PFAS.
In Jeruchim et al. v. The J.M. Smucker Co. et al., the class brought claims for violations of California’s consumer protection laws, common law fraud, and unjust enrichment arising from allegedly misleading omissions related to three different brands of pet food sold by The J.M. Smucker Company (“Smucker”). No. 22-cv-06913-WHO, 2026 WL 178565 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 22, 2026). Plaintiffs claim those brands were misleadingly labeled as “healthful” despite containing titanium oxide and containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in the packaging, which plaintiffs allege cause undue health risks. Plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that Smucker was aware of the harms caused by the presence of those chemicals and abused the public trust by not informing them of the same. Instead, these pet foods were advertised as providing “100% Complete and Balanced” nutrition, and thus, Plaintiffs allege they purchased them for their pets thinking they were healthy and would not have otherwise done so if Smucker had been truthful as to the presence of these chemicals.
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