Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light (Canned)

Rating:

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light canned dog food earns the Advisor’s lowest rating of 1 star.

The Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light product line includes one canned dog food.

Even though we could not locate an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement for this product on the Hill’s website, the recipe appears to be designed for weight control (adult maintenance).

The first ingredient in this dog food lists water, which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second ingredient includes corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

For this reason, we do not consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.

The third item lists meat by-products, slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of slaughtered animals after all the prime cuts have been removed.

In a nutshell, meat by-products are the unsavory leftovers of processing considered by many “unfit for human consumption”.

With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this stuff can include heads, ovaries or developing fetuses.¹

What’s worse, this particular item is anonymous. It doesn’t even specify the source animal. So, this meat can come from almost anywhere, even diseased or dying livestock.

Although meat by-products can be high in protein, we do not consider a generic ingredient like this a quality item.

The fourth item lists soybean mill run. Mill run is a by-product, mostly the hulls of soybeans remaining after processing the beans into meal. This is nothing more than a cheap, low-quality filler more commonly found in cattle feeds.

The fifth ingredient is liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The sixth ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins lower in many of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.

This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.

After the chicken liver flavor, we find powdered cellulose, a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from the by-products of vegetable processing.

Cellulose is sometimes added to dilute the number of calories per serving and to give the feeling of fullness when it is eaten.

Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no nutritional value to a dog.

The ninth item lists egg product, a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The tenth ingredient is soil oil, red flagged here only due to its rumored (yet unlikely) link to canine food allergies.

However, since soybean oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids and contains no omega-3′s, it’s considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With one notable exception…

The minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light looks to be a below-average canned dog food.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 20%, a fat level of 9% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 64%.

Very low protein. Low fat. And very high carbohydrates when compared to a typical canned dog food.

In addition, when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten meal, this looks like the profile of a wet food containing only a limited amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light is a corn-based canned dog food using only a limited amount of meat by-product meal as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 1 star.

Not recommended.

A Final Word

This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food? Or maybe the review itself? Please know we welcome your comments.

Notes and Updates

01/01/2010 Original review
08/03/2010 Review updated
11/13/2011 Review updated, no changes noted

The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.

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