Purina has been pressured to rebut what it described as “online rumors” which have induced a frenzy on TikTok in current weeks alleging that its Pro Plan meals had sickened dozens of pets, largely canine.

Days after the corporate issued a statement by which it stated “these false statements may be creating unnecessary stress for pet parents,” a Purina spokeswoman stated on Thursday that there was “absolutely no data showing us that there is a pattern of problems” with any Purina product.

“During the past few days, we have seen an increase in consumers who are scared and reaching out to ask if we have a product recall or issue after seeing this rumor,” the spokeswoman, Lorie Westhoff, stated in an electronic mail. “In response, we are informing them that these rumors are not true and that our food is safe to feed.”

Purina, which is predicated in St. Louis and is a subsidiary of Nestlé, was responding to unsubstantiated accounts that had been shared in TikTok movies that amassed 1000’s of views, and in a public Facebook group with 62,000 members referred to as Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time. Dogs had been having seizures, vomiting and affected by diarrhea, based on these accounts, and a few had been dying, after consuming Purina Pro Plan meals.

Worried pet homeowners inspired a Purina boycott. By final week, the Facebook group had received nearly 197 anecdotal reports that animals — 151 canine and 46 cats — had fallen ailing, and that 51 of them had died.

Purina stated there was no proof to help these stories.

“We know this is a rumor because we have absolutely no data showing us that there is a pattern of problems with any specific product,” Ms. Westhoff stated. “As a company that feeds more than 100 million cats and dogs each year, we don’t take risks with pet health ever.”

In its assertion final week, Purina stated the sources of among the posts had been “well-intentioned pet parents who are genuinely concerned and trying to be helpful,” whereas others “may be trying to create chaos and distrust of certain brands as an opportunity to sell their own products.”

In 2022, customers spent greater than $136.8 billion on pets within the United States, the place greater than 65 million households have canine and about 46.5 million households have cats, according to a Forbes Advisor survey revealed final week.

The numbers counsel the potential affect that on-line communities can have on the pet meals trade.

Rachel Fusaro, who has 275,000 followers on TikTok, cited stories in current movies which have racked up hundreds of thousands of views in current weeks saying that a whole lot of canine had fallen ailing after consuming Purina. Ms. Fusaro, whose web site says that she has a bachelor’s degree in nutrition science, referred to among the descriptions on Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time.

“I am not confirming whether there is or isn’t anything wrong with Purina,” she said in one video on TikTok. But she added that she “personally would stop” utilizing Purina merchandise regardless of the dearth of an official recall. Ms. Fusaro couldn’t be instantly reached for touch upon Thursday.

In reply to emailed questions on Thursday, Purina stated Ms. Fusaro had not provided any proof of a connection between any diseases and a Purina product.

Ms. Westhoff, the Purina spokesman, stated the corporate was “considering other avenues to address this directly with those who started the rumor.”

“They have acknowledged in multiple ways that they have no evidence that there is an issue with Purina products but continue to purposefully spread this misinformation,” she stated.

The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have a current itemizing for a recall affecting Purina merchandise. Purina’s final voluntary recall was in March 2023, after a “food supplier error” resulted in potentially elevated levels of vitamin D in Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental prescription dry pet food.

Ms. Westhoff stated there was “no correlation” between the most recent rumors “and the food we voluntarily recalled last year.”

In that case, she stated, investigators following up on a pair of client complaints discovered that the trigger was “an error that took place at a third-party blender.”

“We promptly made the decision to voluntarily recall the product and notified the F.D.A.,” she stated.”

The F.D.A. stated in a press release on Thursday that it couldn’t touch upon the current stories about pet diseases that had been circulating on-line however that, “generally speaking,” it evaluates them to find out if motion is required. It inspired pet homeowners and veterinarians to report sickness or different hostile occasions related to pet meals directly to the agency.

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