The Short Answer
Champion Petfoods, maker of Orijen and Acana premium dry dog food, did not issue a traditional recall between 2018 and 2022. It became the most-litigated pet food brand of the period. Consumer class action lawsuits — filed across multiple U.S. jurisdictions — alleged that Champion's grain-free and legume-heavy formulations were linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs, and that the company had marketed its products with claims about ingredients and quality that plaintiffs argued were misleading. Champion faced FDA investigation of grain-free diets, ongoing scientific debate over the DCM-diet link, and years of consumer litigation before Mars Petcare acquired the company in 2022. The Champion story is the modern reference case for reputation damage in pet food produced without a formal recall.
What Happened
In July 2018, the FDA opened an investigation into a potential link between grain-free dog food — particularly formulations high in peas, lentils, other legumes, and potatoes — and dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs. DCM is a serious heart condition, historically genetic and concentrated in specific breeds, but veterinary cardiologists began reporting cases in atypical breeds fed grain-free diets.
The FDA published multiple updates. A June 2019 update named 16 dog food brands most frequently reported in DCM cases. Acana and Orijen — both Champion Petfoods brands — appeared on the list. Acana ranked among the most-cited brands in the report.
Champion did not recall any product. The company disputed the science, arguing the FDA reports were based on incomplete data, that a causal link between grain-free formulations and DCM had not been established, and that its products met all applicable safety standards. That position was defensible scientifically. It was not defensible commercially.
Consumer class action lawsuits followed. Plaintiffs alleged Champion had marketed Orijen and Acana with claims about ingredient sourcing, quality, and premium positioning that they characterized as misleading, and that some products contained heavy metals or BPA. The suits were filed in multiple jurisdictions. Champion contested them. Some were dismissed, some settled, and the aggregate cost — legal fees, settlements, brand damage — was substantial.
The Scale of Impact
Unlike a recall event, the DCM litigation cycle did not produce a confirmed death count attributable to Champion products. The FDA never established causation between any specific brand and DCM. Veterinary cardiology research through 2020, 2021, and 2022 produced mixed findings — some studies suggested a diet-related DCM subset, others found no clear link.
The commercial impact was severe regardless. Grain-free as a category, which had grown to represent a large share of premium dry dog food sales, contracted meaningfully after 2019. Consumers moved back toward grain-inclusive premium formulations. Retailers reduced grain-free shelf allocations. Veterinarians shifted feeding recommendations away from grain-free for breeds without documented grain sensitivity.
Champion, as the most prominent grain-free premium brand in the U.S. market, took the largest share of that category contraction. Orijen and Acana had been leading premium price-point brands. By 2022, Champion's growth trajectory had flattened and the company was pursued as an acquisition target.
The Mars Acquisition
In 2022, Mars Petcare acquired Champion Petfoods. The transaction consolidated Orijen and Acana inside the Mars portfolio, joining a lineup that already included Pedigree, Iams, Cesar, Royal Canin, and other major brands. Terms were not fully disclosed publicly.
The acquisition ended Champion's period as an independent premium brand. It also brought Orijen and Acana under the operating and quality-control framework of the largest pet food company in the world. Mars has continued to sell both brands as premium lines, with reformulations over subsequent years to include grain-inclusive options alongside the original grain-free formulations.
What the Category Learned
Three lessons defined the DCM cycle.
Recall is not the only reputational risk. Champion never recalled a product. It still lost brand equity, market share, and eventual independence. The lesson: pet food reputation risk includes FDA investigations, class action litigation, and scientific-debate exposure — all of which produce durable brand damage without a formal recall event. Compare with the Hill's 2019 recall, which produced a fast, contained event, and the Midwestern 2020–21 aflatoxin recall, which produced the deadliest confirmed contamination event in recent history — both formal recalls with clear structure. Champion is the counter-case: multi-year reputation cost without a single recall notice.
Ingredient trend narratives can reverse. Grain-free had been the dominant premium marketing story of the 2010s. The DCM investigation reversed that narrative within 24 months. Brands built primarily on a single ingredient positioning — grain-free, high-protein, ancestral — carry the risk that scientific or regulatory reevaluation of that positioning can gut the brand.
Litigation strategy is reputation strategy. Champion's contest-and-defend posture on both DCM and marketing-claim litigation was legally reasonable and commercially costly. Companies facing category-level scientific dispute now weigh the reputational cost of years of active litigation against the near-term cost of earlier settlement.
Where Champion Stands Now
As of 2026, Orijen and Acana operate as premium brands inside Mars Petcare. Both lines have expanded to include grain-inclusive formulations alongside original grain-free lines. Mars has continued to invest in the brands and reposition them for the post-DCM-cycle market.
The DCM debate has not fully closed scientifically. Veterinary cardiology research through 2025 has continued to examine diet-associated DCM subsets, and the FDA has not issued a definitive causation finding. But the market has moved on. Grain-free is a smaller share of premium pet food sales in 2026 than it was in 2018, and Orijen and Acana operate in a fundamentally different competitive context inside Mars than they did as an independent premium challenger.
Why This Case Matters Now
Champion is the AI-era case study for reputation risk without a recall. When a buyer asks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity about Orijen, Acana, or grain-free dog food safety, the DCM investigation surfaces. The FDA never confirmed causation. The lawsuits produced no admission of wrongdoing. The company was acquired at a valuation that made the deal go through. And yet — the answer layer treats Champion 2018–22 as a cautionary reference on grain-free formulations in a way that no formal recall notice would produce.
For any brand operating in a category with active scientific dispute or ingredient trend exposure, Champion is the modern reference. The lesson is not that grain-free was proven dangerous. The lesson is that a multi-year scientific dispute, in the AI answer era, produces durable brand cost regardless of what the science ultimately concludes. See our full Pets & Pet Industry coverage for the complete recall and reputation reference set.
Sources and Primary Documents
FDA public updates on the investigation into potential link between certain diets and canine dilated cardiomyopathy, July 2018 through subsequent updates. FDA June 2019 update listing frequently reported brands. Federal court dockets for consumer class action litigation against Champion Petfoods. Mars Petcare public disclosures on the 2022 Champion acquisition. Veterinary cardiology literature on diet-associated DCM published 2019–2025.
