For the second time, The Farmer’s Dog pet food has taken marketing claims made by pet food manufacturers to the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau. And for the second time, pet owners benefit from the decisions made.
The first challenge of marketing claims was against FreshPet advertising, claiming television commercials implied that FreshPet’s dog food was human grade. The National Advertising Division (NAD) determined that “these claims convey a message that Freshpet dog food is human grade and recommended Freshpet discontinue the claims as they appear in the Benji video.”
This time, The Farmer’s Dog pet food took the marketing claims of Sunday’s pet food to NAD.
The NAD decision in this case provides pet owners with some potentially huge wins that we hope alters future marketing efforts in pet food. One of the big wins…misleading images.
From the NAD press release:
“NAD reviewed claims such as ‘all natural ingredients,’ ‘100% meat and superfoods,’ ‘the same ingredients you’d put in your salad,’ and accompanying imagery suggesting the inclusion of whole fruits and vegetables.”
“NAD determined that, in context, these claims and images could reasonably convey the message that whole fruits and vegetables are included in the final product. Because Sundays uses nutrient extracts rather than whole foods, NAD recommended that these claims be discontinued or modified to avoid misleading consumers.”
Significantly, an advertising authority took a stance against the claims and images commonly used in pet food marketing. Their words “these claims and images could reasonably convey the message that whole fruits and vegetables are included in the final product” and their stance “that these claims be discontinued or modified to avoid misleading consumers” is a significant win for pet owners. This decision sets a precedent for current and future pet food advertising claims; don’t sell your pet food through images of grilled steak or roasted chicken that are NOT included in your product. It sends a message to those that do use these misleading images…soon, you could be held accountable for misleading consumers.
The NAD also looked into Sundays’ Pet Food claim “that it offers ‘what we think is the world’s healthiest, and most convenient dog food.’”
“NAD determined that this claim conveys an objective message of superiority in specific attributes—health and convenience—that requires substantiation. Because Sundays did not provide evidence demonstrating superiority over a significant portion of the market, NAD recommended that the claim be discontinued.”
Again, significant for pet food consumers the NAD ruled that marketing claims made by a pet food manufacturer “requires substantiation.” Setting another precedent that manufacturers might have to prove their marketing claims in the future.
To read the full NAD decision press release, Click Here.
A sincere thank you to the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau for standing up for pet food consumers. As well, a sincere thank you to The Farmer’s Dog pet food company for taking on a job (stopping misleading marketing of pet food) that the FDA and all state regulators have ignored.
Will regulatory ever enforce law?
Federal and state laws require pet food advertising to be truthful and not misleading. The question remains…will regulatory authorities ever enforce pet food laws? Or do we have to continue to depend on the Better Business Bureau and lawyers to do the work that FDA and State pet food authorities are paid to do?
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Consumer Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here
The 2026 List
Our trusted ‘list’ of pet foods. Click Here to learn more.
The 2025/26 Treat List
Susan’s List of trusted pet treat manufacturers. Click Here to learn more.
Association for Truth in Pet Food is a stakeholder organization representing pet food consumers at AAFCO and with FDA. Your membership helps representatives attend meetings and voice consumer concerns with regulatory authorities. Click Here to learn more.
Scrappy Rat
April 30, 2026 at 3:50 pm
A definite step in the right direction! I hope it leads to an end to the misleading pictures of Perdue chickens enjoying the outdoors and dairy ads showing mother cows with their babies, calling them “happy”, etc. Nearly all (if not all) of those chickens have their beaks cut, live 5 to a cage the size of a sheet of looseleaf paper and never see the sun till the day they are vacuumed up into crates placed on open sided trucks where they endure exposure to the elements, often without access to food or water, for the entire trip to the slaughterhouse. That’s as much nature as most chickens (even “free range” ones–they live in high-density sheds too, just they are able to walk on the floor, but still don’t have the space needed to unfurl their wings) ever see. Why we allow these images of little red barns and a few animals wandering happily over the hills when that’s absolutely not where they came from, is beyond me. We need to be honest about these things. Too many people think, “oh well my dinner wasn’t raised like that.” when yes, those birds were raised exactly that way. We kill per *day* more chickens than the total number of humans who have exisited in history. That’s not happening in cute little coops.
T Allen
April 30, 2026 at 5:57 pm
Way to go Farmer’s Dog! Wish I had a dog I’d buy from you! This just what we need, people to fight back against the corps!
Sandy M
April 30, 2026 at 9:11 pm
This is some great news and a big step in the right direction! Hopefully this news gets out quickly. If media would cover this, that would put a fire under it, but they probably won’t. It’s the lawyers that do the work for FDA and State pet food authorities. The fear of a lawsuit is the only thing that can make a businesses/manufacturer’s change what they are doing. Thank you Susan for being a cog in the wheel that’s going in the right direction.
Michele Littlw
May 1, 2026 at 8:04 am
This is very important news! Thank you Farmers Dog. I am so prooud of the BBB that they maintain the integrity of their business model. And the NDA took at stand too! We all know both the BBB and NDA are absolutely correct. Maybe more pet product consumers will see this and be able to better protect their pets from the nefarious practices of most pet food manufacturers, and reward the ones that provide a quiality product for all our beloved animals.
Tricia L. Somers
May 2, 2026 at 1:12 pm
Thank you for posting this, Susan. Glad that the BBB is actually viable. It seems you can’t really believe anything from a huge corporation…or anything that involves the exchange of money…LoL
Caroline Snyder
May 2, 2026 at 5:18 pm
Nice one Susan! Now if only the company would help CAT owners with a high meat product!
In the interim, with the discovery that FARMINA NORTH AMERICA is importing hundreds of thousands of pounds of MEALS and BYPRODUCTS including the following –
BLOOD MEAL (from Italy)
PORK GREAVES MEAL (Italy)
FISH MEAL (Denmark)
LAMB MEAT AND BONE MEAL (Italy/New Zealand)
VENISON MEAT AND BONE MEAL (New Zealand)
POULTRY MEAL (Italy)
and
FRUIT, VEG, HERBS from CHINA! SHIPPED April 13th 2026, House BOL THGLSHA26031038 MASTER BOL YMJAE237056483 Xi An Rainbow Bio Tech Co Ltd Xi’an, China – 20,425 kg 44,935 LBS 801 Bags
Pumpkin Powder, Chamomile Powder, Coconut Powder, Curcuma Powder (Turmeric), Blueberry Powder, Fruit Mix Ams Thglsha
via AsiaUS Transatlantic
for MORE than 6 months.. yet they have NOT altered their packaging to reflect this!
Can anyone help me REPORT this, as they are still claiming FRESHB AND DEHYDRATED MEATS and NO Meals and By-Products (Blood Meal is a By-Product!)
Thank You!
I DID start a new FB group to spread the word after I almost LOST a cat to this US-made stuff, called USA-Made FARMINA PET FOOD is MAKING Dogs and Cats SICK – feel free to join us!