Big Heart Pet Brands was a short-lived 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 indus ...

and other products for the U.S. retail market. Formerly a subsidiary of J.M. Smucker Co., it was 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 1967, stands 12 ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Big Heart Pet Brands was previously the pet food division of

Del Monte Foods Del Monte Foods Inc. ( trading as Del Monte Foods) is an American food production and distribution company and subsidiary of NutriAsia, headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the largest producers, distributor ...

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

, Kibbles 'n Bits,

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 a brand of cat food launched in 1959. Better known today by its mascot, Morris, it has four varieties of dry food (Daily Essentials, Plus Care, Indoor Complete and Long Life Formula), and five lines of wet food in various flavors. On ...

, Gravy Train, Nature's Recipe, Canine Carry Outs, Pup-Peroni, and Milo's Kitchen, among others. Big Heart Pet Brands also produced and distributed private label pet products. On February 3, 2015, it was announced The J.M. Smucker Company 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 (US) or pentobarbitone (British and Australian) 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 insomnia but ...

—a

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

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 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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 ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

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 ...

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 Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco Animal food manufacturers 2015 mergers and acquisitions The J.M. Smucker Co. brands