Fish farm says Purina feed caused massive die-offs

An Illinois fish producer is suing Purina Animal Nutrition for allegedly causing massive fish die-offs with its feed.

ftlaudgirl, Bigstockphoto.com
ftlaudgirl, Bigstockphoto.com

An Illinois fish producer is suing Purina Animal Nutrition for allegedly causing massive fish die-offs with its feed.

Largemouth bass producer Veath Fish Farm is seeking more than $1 million for loss of sales, customers and other damages from Purina and Texas Farm Products Company, which allegedly produced the feed.

The lawsuit claims Purina’s production change to Texas Farm Products caused reformulation of AquaMax 500 and AquaMax 600, which Veath fed to its fish. Veath says the reformulation created a feed with higher digestible carbohydrate percentages than largemouth bass can use, causing liver damage in the fish.

Complaint details

In the lawsuit, Veath said it started using Purina’s fish feed in 2008. Before June 2015, AquaMax 500 and AquaMax 600 were manufactured by at least one other company that did not include Texas Farm Products. Veath says that, around June 2015, Texas Farm Products began manufacturing the feeds, and no notice of change in production facility was provided to Veath.

As of June 2015, Veath had 360,000 largemouth bass in production. But, by April 2016, the company says it suffered a “substantial loss of its fish population from disease and death.”

The complaint alleges that Purina committed consumer fraud and negligence; and breached express warranty, implied warranty of merchantability and implied warranty. It also alleges that Texas Farm Products violated the consumer fraud act; was negligent; and breached express warranty, implied warranty of merchantability, and implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.

Purina has said it disputes the accusations and intends to fight them. An attorney for Veath said the company is prepared to see the case through the entire litigation process.

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