Mars Petcare's Claim That Eurkanuba Dog Food Prolonged Life Was 'false Or Misleading,' FTC Says

The Federal Trade Commission ruled Tuesday that Mars Petcare Inc. mislead consumers by suggesting that its Eukanuba dog foods will increase the lifespan of dogs. The FTC said the ads which implied that with Eukanuba dogs will live 30% or more longer than their typical lifespan, and that the Eukanuba brand foods enable dogs to live exceptionally long lives, are "false or misleading or were not substantiated" at the time the representations were made. "Among other things, the evidence relied on by [Mars Petcare] for its representations concerning the Eukanuba brand dog food consisted primarily of results from a single study, the results of which showed no significant difference in the median age at death of the dogs in the study relative to the typical age at death of dogs of the same breed," the FTC said in statement.