A family made a pet food with one big promise on the label: “no by-product meal.” Then a competitor took them to court. What happens to a company when one promise is wrong?
Look at each word. Say what you think it means. Then tap the card.
Tap a card to see the meaning.
Write one word from the cards in each gap.
1. Please read the on the box. It says what is inside.
2. Flour is the main in bread.
3. I my best friend. I can tell her anything.
4. A farm sells eggs to our shop. The farm is our .
5. I put salt in my tea by accident. It was a .
6. Two companies went to court. The first company started a .
1. label · 2. ingredient · 3. trust · 4. supplier · 5. mistake · 6. lawsuit
Read each part. Then answer the questions before you read the next part.
In 2003, a family in the United States, the Bishops, started a pet food company. They called it Blue Buffalo.
The idea came from their dog. His name was Blue, and he was very ill with cancer. The family wanted the best food for him. They read the labels of many pet foods, and they did not like some ingredients. One of them was “by-product meal” — a cheap powder made from parts of an animal.
So they made a different food. It was natural, with real meat as the first ingredient. And on every bag, there was a big promise: no chicken by-product meal, no corn, no wheat, no soy.
The food cost more than other brands. But many owners were happy to pay. They trusted the promise — and they loved their pets.
Blue Buffalo grew very fast and became one of the best-known pet food brands in the country.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. The company was started in 2003.
2. The Bishops wanted by-product meal in their food.
3. Blue Buffalo food was cheaper than other brands.
In May 2014, a big competitor, Purina, started a lawsuit against Blue Buffalo.
Purina said: “Some Blue Buffalo food contains chicken by-product meal. The promise on the bag is not true.” Purina did laboratory tests on the food and took the results to court.
Blue Buffalo was in a very difficult position. A supplier had sent it the wrong ingredients and, it said, had not told the truth about them. The company did not know. It stopped buying from that supplier.
But for the customers, that did not matter. The label on the bag said “no by-product meal”, and it was not always true.
Some owners were angry. They started their own lawsuit. In the end, Blue Buffalo paid about thirty-two million dollars to settle it.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Purina is a competitor of Blue Buffalo.
2. Blue Buffalo knew about the wrong ingredients.
3. Some customers also started a lawsuit.
In November 2016, Purina and Blue Buffalo agreed to end their lawsuits. The details are secret.
The story did not end the company. Many customers kept buying Blue Buffalo. In 2018, a big food company, General Mills, bought it for about eight billion dollars.
But the story still teaches a hard lesson. A strong promise can win trust very fast — and one mistake can put that trust in danger.
The bigger the promise on the bag, the more you must check. A good company tests its ingredients and visits its suppliers. A smart customer reads the label — and asks questions.
So: was Blue Buffalo’s promise a clever idea, or a dangerous bet?
True or false? Click your answer.
1. The lawsuits between the two companies ended in 2016.
2. Customers stopped buying Blue Buffalo completely.
3. A bigger promise on the label needs more checking.
Labels say what is inside a product — and what is not inside. We use no, not any and without for this.
Something is inside: This biscuit contains chicken. / This biscuit is made with chicken.
Something is not inside — use no OR not any (same meaning):
This biscuit contains no corn.
This biscuit doesn’t contain any corn.
Never use both: This biscuit doesn’t contain no corn. ✗ — one negative is enough!
without + noun means “not having”: I like tea without sugar. / a food without artificial colours
Remember the -s: It contains chicken. (he / she / it) but The biscuits contain chicken.
| Something inside | Not inside (1) | Not inside (2) |
|---|---|---|
| It contains chicken. | It contains no corn. | It doesn’t contain any corn. |
| It has real meat. | It has no sugar. | It doesn’t have any sugar. |
| a food with vitamins | a food without vitamins |
Write one word in each gap: no, any, with or without.
1. This bag contains corn. It says so on the label.
2. These biscuits don’t contain artificial colours.
3. I drink my coffee milk. I only like it black.
4. There isn’t chicken in this soup. It is a vegetable soup.
5. My dog loves chicken, so I buy biscuits chicken.
6. The laboratory found problems, so the food was safe.
1. no · 2. any · 3. without · 4. any · 5. with · 6. no
Each sentence has one mistake. Say the correct sentence out loud, then check.
1. This food doesn’t contain no corn.
2. I want a biscuit without of sugar.
3. This bag contains any soy.
4. There are not no artificial colours in it.
5. The food contain no by-product meal.
1. This food doesn’t contain any corn. (or: This food contains no corn.)
2. I want a biscuit without sugar. (no of)
3. This bag doesn’t contain any soy. (or: This bag contains no soy.)
4. There are no artificial colours in it. (or: There aren’t any artificial colours in it.)
5. The food contains no by-product meal. (he / she / it + -s)
Take your time. Short sentences are fine.
Tell me the story in your own words. Six or seven sentences is enough.
Here is a label: NATURAL DOG BISCUITS — contains chicken, rice and carrots. No corn. No soy. No artificial colours.
Tell me what is in the biscuits and what is not. Then say: what would you check before you believe this label?
Think of a product you buy: food, a drink, a phone, clothes.
What does the company promise on the box or in its advertising? Do you believe it? Why or why not?
Role play. Person A is a customer. Person B works for the company.
A: Your test found a wrong ingredient in the food, but the label says it is not inside. You are angry. Ask for an answer.
B: Say sorry, explain what happened and say what you will do now.