 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pet food |
| Founded | Topeka, Kansas (1960s) |
| Headquarters | Topeka, Kansas, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Dog food, Cat food |
| Owner | Colgate-Palmolive |
| Website | hillspet |
Science Diet is a brand of cat and dog foods marketed by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. [1] (a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive Company). In the United Kingdom and Europe, Science Diet operates as Science Plan.
Science Diet was developed in the 1960s by Mark L. Morris, Jr. PhD DVM (February 3, 1934 –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 specialised 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. [2]
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". [3]
Science Diet has had multiple product recalls. [4]
Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carnivores, better suited for the consumption of meat than of vegetable substances, yet also have ten genes that are responsible for starch and glucose digestion, as well as the ability to produce amylase, an enzyme that functions to break down carbohydrates into simple sugars – something that obligate carnivores like cats lack. Dogs evolved the ability living alongside humans in agricultural societies, as they managed on scrap leftovers and excrement from humans.
A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action.
Nestlé Purina Petcare, or simply Purina, is an American subsidiary of the Swiss corporation Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces and markets pet food, treats, cat and dog litter. Some of its pet food brands include Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow, Friskies, Beneful and Purina One. The company was formed in 2001 by combining Nestlé's Friskies Petcare Company with Ralston Purina, which acquired it for $10.3 billion. As of 2012, it is the second-largest pet food company globally, and the largest in the United States.
Cat food is food specifically designed for consumption by cats. As obligate carnivores, cats have specific requirements for their dietary nutrients, namely nutrients found only in meat, such as taurine, arginine, and Vitamin B6. Certain nutrients, including many vitamins and amino acids, are degraded by the temperatures, pressures and chemical treatments used during manufacture, and hence must be added after manufacture to avoid nutritional deficiency.
Raw feeding is the practice of feeding domestic dogs, cat and other animals diet consisting primarily of uncooked meat, edible bones, and organs. The ingredients used to formulate raw diets can vary. Some pet owners choose to make home-made raw diets to feed their animals but commercial raw food diets are also available.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy is a brand of milk candy manufactured by Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd., in China. It is an iconic cultural brand and has been in production since 1943.
Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food industry, and is not regarded as "human grade".
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.
ZuPreem, a brand of Compana, manufactures and sells animal feeds, particularly for zoo animals and exotic pets. It is based in Kansas.
The Nutro Company, Inc., a subsidiary company of Mars Incorporated, is the developer and manufacturer of the Max, Wholesome Essentials, Ultra, Wild Frontier, and Crave brands of dog and cat food, as well as Greenies dental treats. The company is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, USA.
Beneful is a brand of dog food products by Nestlé Purina PetCare global that includes wet dog food, dry dog food and dog treats. As of 2012, it was the fourth most popular dog food brand, generating more than $1.5 billion in annual revenues. According to a SWOT analysis by Marketline, Beneful is one of Nestle Purina's more significant brands by revenue.
Menu Foods Limited, based in Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, was the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, with its products sold under 95 brand names, which the company identifies as supermarkets, big box and pet product retailers and wholesalers. It was bought out by Simmons Foods in August 2010.
In processed animal foods, a filler is an ingredient added to provide dietary fiber, bulk or some other non-nutritive purpose.
Beginning in March 2007, there was a widespread recall of many brands of cat and dog foods due to contamination with melamine and cyanuric acid. The recalls in North America, Europe, and South Africa came in response to reports of kidney failure in pets. Initially, the recalls were associated with the consumption of mostly wet pet foods made with wheat gluten from a single Chinese company.
This timeline of the 2007 pet food recalls documents how events related to the 2007 pet food recalls unfolded. Several contaminated Chinese vegetable proteins were used by pet food makers in North America, Europe and South Africa, leading to kidney failure in animals fed the contaminated food. Both the centralization of the pet food industry and the speed and manner of the industry and government response became the subjects of critical discussion.
In China, the adulteration and contamination of several food and feed ingredients with inexpensive melamine and other compounds, such as cyanuric acid, ammeline and ammelide, are common practice. These adulterants can be used to inflate the apparent protein content of products, so that inexpensive ingredients can pass for more expensive, concentrated proteins. Melamine by itself has not been thought to be very toxic to animals or humans except possibly in very high concentrations, but the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid has been implicated in kidney failure. Reports that cyanuric acid may be an independently and potentially widely used adulterant in China have heightened concerns for both animal and human health.
Freshpet is an American pet food company. Its cat food and dog food products are marketed as fresh, and need to be kept refrigerated. It is listed on the Nasdaq exchange with the ticker symbol FRPT.
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods is an American pet food manufacturer with its headquarters located in Burbank, Los Angeles, California. Established in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, the company markets itself as "Food For a Lifetime" and promotes itself as having "the finest food you can buy for your pet." A subsidiary of Big Heart Pet Brands, it was previously owned by the J.M. Smucker Company until February 2021, when it was sold to Nexus Capital Management LP.
In 2007 a series of product recalls and import bans were imposed by the product safety institutions of the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand against products manufactured in and exported from the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC) because of numerous alleged consumer safety issues. The many product recalls within the year led Consumer Reports and other observers to dub 2007 "The Year of the Recall.”
SmartPak is a business headquartered in Plymouth, Massachusetts. SmartPak was founded in 1999 by two Harvard Business School graduates, founders Becky Minard, and her husband Paal Gisholt. SmartPak provides custom-packed nutritional supplements in daily-dose packages for horses and dogs. In addition to its patented feeding system that provides convenient administration of supplements and medications, SmartPak has since expanded into selling equestrian apparel and gear, and added products for dogs, including dog supplies.
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