Brand profile · PetScored desk

Hill's Science Diet

Hill's Science Diet has FDA warning-letter activity in our window - treat the trust signal as open.

2 products scored · brand average 7.7 · top-scoring: Adult Chicken & Barley Recipe Dog Food at 7.7.

The verdict

Should you feed Hill's Science Diet?

Hill's Science Diet runs 2 scored products on PetScored, averaging a 7.7 composite. The top-scoring recipe is Adult Chicken & Barley Recipe Dog Food at 7.7.

Across the lineup, Nutrition Fit is the strongest sub-score (9.0); Value is the weakest (3.0).

6 Brand Trust signals have been verified from primary sources.

FDA matching is partial. Without a complete export we do not credit a clean record.

If your dog avoids common trigger ingredients, the lineup carries these label flags: chicken, wheat, corn, soy. Sub-score weighting handles them on each individual scorecard.

8.8/ 10

brand trust fixture

Parent company: Colgate-Palmolive
Manufacturer: Hill's Pet Nutrition
Country: United States
Transparency: High
Scoring path: seed score during review

Transparency at a glance

What we can verify about Hill's Science Diet.

Five signals our rubric weights most for Brand Trust. Each is sourced and dated in the evidence record below. Unknown is not treated as false- it’s recorded as “not publicly disclosed.”

5of 5 verified

Owns its manufacturing
Brand owns or operates the primary plant where its food is made.
Named qualified nutritionist
Brand publicly names a qualified nutritionist (DACVN, ECVCN, or PhD nutrition) on staff.
AAFCO feeding trials
At least some recipes carry AAFCO feeding-trial (not just formulation) adequacy.
Publishes research
Brand publishes peer-reviewed nutrition research.
No FDA recall in 5 years
No FDA firm-issued recall in the last five years.

Brand Trust verification

Signal-by-signal evidence record.

Verified records replace the product-level seed Brand Trust score. Pending and conflicted records stay visible as context; unknown is not treated as false.

partially verifiedseed score during review5 unknown0 conflictLast checked 2026-05-15

Named qualified nutritionist

Hill's describes science-led nutrition and expert involvement, but a named qualified nutritionist and specific peer-reviewed citations still need capture. Public profile lists Iveta Becvarova, DVM, MS, DACVN, as Director of Global Academic and Professional Affairs at Hill's Pet Nutrition, Topeka. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition in July 2007. Hill's states it employs four of the 94 diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, plus two veterinarians residency-trained in clinical nutrition. The page does not name them individually.

verified true

Hill's Nutritional Philosophy Iveta Becvarova ResearchGate profile (Hill's Pet Nutrition, Topeka)Hill's Pet Nutrition Center: People Behind the PNC

Owns or operates primary manufacturing

Hill's states the formula is substantiated by AAFCO feeding tests and that dry food is made in its own US facilities with ingredients from North America, Europe, and New Zealand. The nutrient panel is useful but is not a complete nutrient analysis.

verified true

Hill's Science Diet Adult Chicken & Barley official product page

Current feeding-trial evidence

verified true

Hill's Science Diet Adult Chicken & Barley official product page

Peer-reviewed research

Hill's describes science-led nutrition and expert involvement, but a named qualified nutritionist and specific peer-reviewed citations still need capture. PubMed search for Hill's Pet Nutrition Center, Topeka authors returns multiple indexed peer-reviewed papers, including work in JAVMA and PLOS One by named Hill's scientists (e.g., Roudebush, Jewell, MacLeay, Floerchinger). Hill's publicly states its scientists author 50+ research papers and textbook chapters per year.

verified true

Hill's Nutritional Philosophy PubMed: Hill's Pet Nutrition Center peer-reviewed publications

Complete nutrient analysis

unknown

Hill's Science Diet Adult Chicken & Barley official product page

No FDA recall in past 5 years

Official FDA firm-issued recall archive, current as of 2026-04-13, matched 6,582 rows against Hill’s terms. Manual disposition found historical brand-relevant recalls, but none within the five-year window. FDA alert describes the 2019 Hill’s canned dog food vitamin D recall and states the recall was terminated on December 21, 2021.

verified true

FDA Firm-Issued Recalls Data Sets FDA Hill’s canned dog food recall alert

No FDA Class I recall ever

No source record captured yet.

unknown

Source needed

Country-of-origin sourcing

verified true

Hill's Science Diet Adult Chicken & Barley official product page

Same ownership for 10+ years

No source record captured yet.

unknown

Source needed

Active FDA warning letter

FDA warning letter dated November 20, 2019 cites Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. in connection with unsafe vitamin D levels in canned dog food products and animal-food preventive-control violations. FDA alert describes the 2019 Hill’s canned dog food vitamin D recall and states the recall was terminated on December 21, 2021.

unknown

FDA Hill's Pet Nutrition warning letter FDA Hill’s canned dog food recall alert

Cannot identify qualified nutritionist

No source record captured yet.

unknown

Source needed

Products

Public-beta products in this brand profile.

Independent. PetScored may earn a commission on purchases through tagged links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate revenue does not affect any score on this page. Affiliate disclosure ›

Hill's Science Diet

Adult Chicken & Barley Recipe Dog Food

7.7

$1.43 / 1,000 kcal · 43% above median

Source-backed adult maintenance dry food with AAFCO feeding-test language and clear calorie data. Watch-outs are chicken and wheat sensitivity exposure plus a historical Hill’s canned-dog-food recall/warning-letter record that remains disclosed as brand-level regulatory history.

Dry dog foodGoodPartially verified

Retailer-sourcedRegulatory historyWarning gap

Buy on Amazon

Hill's Science Diet

Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Barley Recipe

7.6

$1.79 / 1,000 kcal · 79% above median

Source-backed adult maintenance kibble with AAFCO feeding-test language, official calorie data, and retailer package/GA capture. Watch-outs are chicken and egg exposure, pea ingredient presence, partial Brand Trust, price freshness, and Hill's historical canned-dog-food recall/warning-letter context.

Dry dog foodGoodPartially verified

Retailer-sourcedRegulatory historyWarning gap

Buy on Amazon

Appears in

PetScored best-for lists this brand is on

All best-for lists ›

Regulatory context

FDA matching stays visible after launch.

Manual disposition found brand-relevant Hill’s recalls in 2019 and 2014, with no brand-relevant FDA recall in the five-year archive window. A Canyon Bakehouse bread row was dismissed as out of scope.

Direct FDA warning-letter source confirms a 2019 Hill’s Pet Nutrition warning letter tied to canned dog food vitamin D recalls and preventive-control violations. FDA’s related recall alert says the canned dog food recall was terminated on December 21, 2021. Keep active-warning-letter signal unknown because no closeout letter was captured and full warning-letter export coverage remains incomplete.

Full recall history, dated ›

Recall status: conflict
Recall rows: 6582
Recall matches: 4
Recall source: FDA Firm-Issued Recalls Data Sets
Warning status: conflict
Warning rows: No export processed
Warning matches: 1
Warning source: FDA Warning Letters

FAQ

About Hill's Science Diet

Is Hill's Science Diet dog food any good?

Hill's Science Diet averages 7.7 out of 10 across 2 scored products. The top-scoring recipe is Adult Chicken & Barley Recipe Dog Food at 7.7. Whether that's "good" depends on which sub-score matters most for your dog - see the brand page for the full verdict and the per-product strengths and watch-outs.

Has Hill's Science Diet been recalled recently?

Recall matching is still in progress for Hill's Science Diet. We do not credit a clean record until a complete export has been reviewed.

Who owns Hill's Science Diet?

Hill's Science Diet is owned by Colgate-Palmolive. The bag is manufactured by Hill's Pet Nutrition and the recipe references United States for sourcing. Brand Trust signals for manufacturer control and ownership tenure are visible on the brand profile.

Does Hill's Science Diet have an active FDA warning letter?

Hill's Science Diet has 1 warning-letter match in our FDA export. The brand profile shows the disposition. We hold Brand Trust in review until any active warning letter is resolved.

Does Hill's Science Diet pay PetScored for its score?

No. PetScored takes zero manufacturer money - no paid placements, no sponsored rankings, no free-product review programs. Affiliate links on retail-purchase actions are disclosed and never affect scores. See /trust for the full posture.