WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced Mars Petcare U.S. Inc., marketers of Eukanuba dog food, will settle allegations of false advertisements.
The company allegedly ran false ads that said its food could increase the longevity of dogs’ lives. The FTC charges these claims are false or unsubstantiated and that the longevity claim has not been proven by true scientific evidence.
“Two-thirds of all Americans have pets at home, and they spend billions of dollars to ensure that their pets are healthy and well fed,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Pet owners count on ads to be truthful and not to misrepresent health-related benefits. In this case, Mars Petcare simply did not have the evidence to back up the life-extending claims it made about its Eukanuba dog food.”
Under the proposed settlement, the company can no longer engage in these allegedly deceptive acts and it cannot misrepresent its products or the existence, results, conclusions or interpretations of any study.
The FTC voted 3-0 to accept the proposed consent agreement, which will go before public comment for 30 days before the FTC decides whether to finalize it.