Science Diet is a brand of cat and dog foods marketed by

Hill's Pet Nutrition Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., marketed simply as "Hill's", is an American pet food company that produces dog and cat foods. The company is a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive. History Hill's Pet Nutrition was founded in the spring of 1907 by Bu ...

, Inc. (a subsidiary of the

Colgate-Palmolive Company Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health car ...

). In the United Kingdom and Europe, Science Diet operates as Science Plan.

History

Science Diet was developed in the 1960s by Mark L. Morris, Jr. PhD DVM (February 3, 1934January 14, 2007). Dr. Morris Jr. was the son of veterinarian Dr. Mark Morris Sr. DVM, who pioneered the field of veterinary clinical nutrition after being asked to formulate a specialised diet for the original seeing-eye dog, Buddy, a female German Shepherd with

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; bloo ...

disease. That success led Dr. Morris Sr. and his son to devise additional condition-specific and life-stage pet food formulas under the Prescription Diet and Science Diet brand names. The Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet brands steadily gained market share, peaking in 2008 at 10.7% of dog food sales, but by 2011 this had dropped to 9.4% with shifts in consumer preferences toward pet foods marketed as "natural" and consumer perceptions of Science Diet as being "artificial".

Recalls

Science Diet has had multiple product recalls. *March 16, 2007 & March 27, 2017 — FDA Recall on Science Diet Savory Cuts canned cat food due to "melamine contamination" (chemical used in plastics manufacture) *April 1, 2007 — Manufactured Recall on Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food due to "melamine contamination" (chemical used in plastics manufacture) *June 2, 2014 — FDA Recall for Science Diet Adult Small & Toy Breed dry dog food products for potential "salmonella contamination" regarding 62 bags in total. This was limited to the following states: California, Hawaii and Nevada. *November 28, 2015 — Manufactured Recall due to "Labeling problems" on Adult Perfect Weight Chicken and Vegetables, Small & Toy Adult Gourmet Beef Entrée, Small & Toy Mature Gourmet Beef Entrée, Adult Beef Entrée, Adult Beef & Chicken Entrée, and Mature Adult Gourmet Beef Entree. *January 31, 2019 — Manufactured Recall on Hill's Prescription dog food as well as wet Science Diet for "Elevated levels of Vitamin D"

References

External links

Hill's Pet Nutrition: Makers of Science Diet
{{Colgate-Palmolive Cat food brands Colgate-Palmolive brands Dog food brands