Big Heart Pet Brands is an American company that manufacturers, distributes and markets branded

pet food Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food indu ...

and other products for the U.S. retail market. Now a subsidiary of

The J.M. Smucker Company The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...

, it is headquartered at the

One Maritime Plaza One Maritime Plaza is an office tower located in San Francisco's Financial District near the Embarcadero Center towers on Clay and Front Streets. The building, built as the Alcoa Building for Alcoa Corporation and completed in 1964, stands 121 ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Big Heart Pet Brands was previously the pet food

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

Del Monte Foods Del Monte Foods, Inc (trading as Del Monte Foods) is an American food production and distribution company headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketer of bran ...

prior to their 2014 sale to Del Monte Pacific Limited. They generated approximately $2.0 billion in net sales in fiscal 2013. Their brands included

Meow Mix Meow Mix is a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. It is a product of The J.M. Smucker Company as of March 23, 2015. Meow Mix was introduced in 1974 and sells many flavors, including Original Choice and Seafood Medl ...

Kibbles 'n Bits Kibbles 'n Bits is a brand name of dog food currently owned by The J.M. Smucker Company since it acquired its previous owner, Big Heart Pet Brands, in 2015. The brand was originally created in 1981 as the first dual textured dog food, having sof ...

Milk-Bone Milk-Bone is a brand of dog biscuit. It was created in 1908 by the F.H. Bennett Biscuit Company, which operated a bakery on the Lower East Side of New York City. Originally named "Maltoid", the biscuit was a bone-shaped treat made from minerals, ...

9Lives 9Lives is the name of a brand of cat food, owned by J.M. Smucker (after it acquired Big Heart Pet Brands, a former division of Del Monte in 2015) and introduced to the market by tuna processor StarKist Foods in 1959. It is best known for its ...

, Gravy Train, Nature's Recipe, Canine Carry Outs, Pup-Peroni, and Milo's Kitchen, among others. Big Heart Pet Brands also produces and distributes private label pet products. On February 3, 2015, it was announced

would acquire Big Heart Pet Brands for $5.8 billion. J.M. Smucker took over the former Big Heart's brands, marketing under its name.

Pentobarbital detection in Gravy Train dog food in 2018

After

pentobarbital Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of ...

—a

barbiturate Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as we ...

used for euthanasia of dogs, cats and horses—caused the death of a dog on New Year's Eve of 2016, a wide range of pet food brands were tested by

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also sister to ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, partnered with Ellipse Analytics. The brand that most consistently was found to contain pentobarbital was Big Heart Pet Brands' Gravy Train dog food. Out of 15 cans of the company's Gravy Train dog food that were tested, 60% tested positive for pentobarbital. The source was identified as likely to be that animals that had been

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

with pentobarbital had been used for making the dog food. While the levels detected were not considered lethal, the drug is not legally permitted at any concentration in pet food. After declining an on-camera interview, the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

stated that it would "investigate the matter and take appropriate enforcement action".

References

External links

Official website
(archived, 24 Mar 2014)
WGME-TV investigation of dog food deaths
{{Smucker's Companies based in San Francisco Animal food manufacturers 2015 mergers and acquisitions The J.M. Smucker Co. brands