Science Diet
{{Short description|Pet food brand}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Hill's Science Diet
| logo = Image:Hill's Science Diet logo.jpg
| type = Public
| industry = Pet food
| foundation = Topeka, Kansas (1960s)
| location = Topeka, Kansas, United States
| area_served = Worldwide
| products = Dog food, Cat food
| owner = Colgate-Palmolive
| homepage = {{URL|hillspet.com}}
}}
Science Diet is a brand of cat and dog foods marketed by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hillsvet.com/_refacing/utilities/SiteSelector.jsp?siteSelectorRedirect=false|title=Hill's Pet Nutrition}} (a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive Company). In the United Kingdom and Europe, Science Diet operates as Science Plan.
History
Science Diet was developed in the 1960s{{cite web |title=Original 1959 Letter from Mark Morris Jr. to Hill Packing Company |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Report_to_Hill_Packing_Company_from_Mark_L._Morris,_D.V.M._April_24,_1959.pdf |website=wikimedia}} by Mark L. Morris, Jr. PhD DVM (February 3, 1934{{snd}}January 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 specialized diet for the original seeing-eye dog, Buddy, a female German Shepherd with kidney 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.markmorrisinstitute.org/mark_morris_sr.html|publisher=Mark Morris Institute|title=Mark Morris Sr.|accessdate=December 5, 2010}}
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".{{ cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324761004578281832634101580 | title=Pet-Food Brand's Image Bites Back Colgate: Sales Decline for Science Diet Line as Dog and Cat Owners Increasingly Value Marketing Pitches Like 'Natural' and 'Wild' | last=Ng | first=Serena | date=2013-02-06 | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2013-02-07 }}
Recalls
Science Diet has had multiple product recalls.{{Cite web|url=https://dogfood.guide/hills-science-diet/|title=Science Diet Dog Food : 2019 Review, Recalls & Coupons|first=Kate|last=Barrington|website=Dog Food Guide}}
- March 16, 2007 {{cite web |url=https://www.petful.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ucm112131.pdf |title=Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., Announces Voluntary Participation in Menu Foods' Nationwide U.S. and Canadian recall of Specific Canned Cat Foods |date=March 16, 2007 |website=www.petful.com |format=PDF|access-date=2019-08-18}} & March 27, 2017 {{Cite web|url=http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_en_US2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130025758/http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_en_US2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 30, 2009|title=Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., Announces Voluntary Participation in Menu Foods’ Nationwide U.S. recall of Specific Canned Cat Foods.|date=January 30, 2009}} — 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){{Cite web |url=http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/mdFAQ_040107_en_US.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724183718/http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/mdFAQ_040107_en_US.htm |title=Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc.|date=July 24, 2008|website=hillspet.com}}
- 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.petful.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ucm399662.pdf |title=Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls 62 Bags of "ScienceDiet® Adult Small & Toy Breed™" Dry Dog Food in California, Hawaii and Nevada Because of Potential Health Risk |date=June 2, 2014 |website=www.petful.com |format=PDF|access-date=2019-08-18}}
- November 28, 2015 — Manufactured Recall due to "Labelling 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.petful.com/brands/hills-science-diet/|title=Hill’s Science Diet Recall History|website=Petful}}
- January 31, 2019 — Manufactured Recall on Hill's Prescription dog food as well as wet Science Diet for "Elevated levels of vitamin D" {{Cite web|url=https://www.petful.com/recall-lists/dog-food-recalls/|title=Dog Food Recalls 2018-2019: Is Your Brand on This List?|date=August 6, 2019|website=Petful}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.hillspet.com Hill's Pet Nutrition: Makers of Science Diet]
{{Colgate-Palmolive}}