Nutritionist
On staff
Manufacturer record
Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.
Parent: Colgate-Palmolive Company · 5 plants
Quality control
Documented
Publishes research
Yes
Transparency
Answers-publicly
Owns its plants
Yes
Credibility score
20 / 20
Credibility scored on the 20-point WSAVA tier, High confidence. An unverified field scores at half credit, never zero. How this feeds the grade →
Brands they own
Science Diet · Prescription Diet · Healthy Advantage · Bioactive Recipe
Recall history
| Date | Class | What | Brands named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-01-31 | I | Excess/toxic vitamin D in canned dog food traced to a supplier vitamin-premix error | Science Diet, Prescription Diet |
Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 1.
The detail
WSAVA gold-standard maker. Hill's states it employs 220+ veterinarians, PhD nutritionists and food scientists, and its Pet Nutrition Center staff includes board-certified specialists in nutrition and internal medicine (secondary reporting: several ACVN/DACVN diplomates plus residency-trained clinical nutritionists on staff). Diets are formulated in-house by credentialed staff. Substantiation includes AAFCO feeding trials and studies in pets with naturally occurring disease, including in-home feeding studies, run at the 180-acre Global Pet Nutrition Center in Topeka, KS (900+ dogs and cats). QC is documented: annual quality-system audits of all plants, cGMP compliance, daily final safety checks, and finished-product testing for key nutrients prior to release (note the irony that the 2019 recall was a documented failure of exactly these receiving/preventive-control procedures per the FDA warning letter). Publishes 50+ research papers/textbook chapters per year and teaches at veterinary schools. Answers manufacturer-credibility (WSAVA/PNA 'Dare to Ask') questions publicly.
Foods we've graded from Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill%27s_Pet_Nutrition
- https://www.petfoodindustry.com/top-pet-food-companies/company/hills-pet-nutrition
- https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/hills-pet-nutrition-inc-576564-11202019
- https://www.feedandadditive.com/colgate-palmolive-expands-hills-pet-nutrition-with-three-manufacturing-plants/
- https://www.hillspet.com/about-us/press-releases/hills-pet-nutrition-opens-new-smart-factory-in-tonganoxie
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hills-pet-nutrition-expands-footprint-in-kansas-with-new-global-and-us-headquarters-in-the-greater-kansas-city-area-topeka-remains-vital-global-hub-for-science-innovation-and-manufacturing-301719427.html
- https://www.hillspet.com/about-us/nutritional-philosophy/research-and-innovation
- https://www.hillspet.com/about-us/quality-and-safety
- https://www.hillspet.com/about-us/nutritional-philosophy/global-pnc
- https://learning.theaawa.org/hills
- https://petnutritionalliance.org/resources/pet-food-manufacturer-evaluation-report/
- https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-alerts-pet-owners-and-veterinarians-about-potentially-toxic-levels-vitamin-d-33-varieties-hills
- https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/hills-pet-nutrition-voluntarily-recalls-select-canned-dog-food-excessive-vitamin-d
- https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2020-02-15/update-fda-says-hills-failed-follow-own-procedures
- https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/02/hills-canned-dog-food-recalled-due-to-elevated-vitamin-d-levels/
- https://www.petful.com/brands/hills-science-diet/
- https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/18-15026/18-15026-2020-07-28.html
- https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/petsmart-nestle-purina-mars-face-prescription-pet-food-class-action/
- https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/14974-hills-settles-class-action-lawsuit-over-vitamin-d-recall
- https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&Id=10055228
AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05