Home Reviews Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food Review (Canned)

Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food Review (Canned)

By Mike Sagman

Updated: March 22, 2024

• 0
• 0
• More

Recommended

Rating:

Which Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3 stars.

The Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine product line includes the 4 canned dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Healthy Cuisine Roasted Chicken was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The second ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is pork liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fourth ingredient lists carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fifth ingredient is rice. Is this whole grain rice, brown rice or white rice? Since the word “rice” doesn’t tell us much, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The sixth ingredient includes peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient is rice starch, a starchy powder extracted from rice and most likely used here as a thickening agent.

The eighth ingredient is spinach. Due to its exceptional vitamin and mineral content, spinach exhibits a remarkably high nutrient Completeness Score² of 91.

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 Science Diet product.

With 6 notable exceptions…

First, we find wheat gluten. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once wheat has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Although wheat gluten contains 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label – a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

In addition, soybean oil is 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 flaxseed oil or a named animal fat.

Next, we note the use of powdered cellulose, a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from the by-products of vegetable processing. Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no nutritional value to a dog.

We also note this food contains fish oil. Fish oil is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.

Depending on its level of freshness and purity, fish oil should be considered a commendable addition.

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food looks like an average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 27%, a fat level of 20% and estimated carbohydrates of about 45%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 25% and a mean fat level of 17%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 50% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 69%.

Which means this Science Diet product line contains…

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas, wheat gluten and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a canned product containing only a modest amount of meat.

Our Rating of Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food

Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine is a grain-inclusive canned dog food using a modest amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3 stars.

Recommended.

Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Hill’s through April.

• Hill’s Prescription Diet and Science Diet Dog Food Recall Expands to Include 44 Varieties (3/20/2019)
• Hill’s Prescription Diet and Science Diet Dog Food Recall (1/31/2019)
• Hill’s Science Diet Dog Food Market Withdrawal of November 2015 (11/29/2015)
• Hill’s Science Diet Dog Food Recall June 2014 (6/3/2014)

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

Get Free Recall Alerts

Get free dog food recall alerts sent to you by email. Subscribe to The Advisor’s recall notification list.

More Hill’s Science Diet Brand Reviews

The following Hill’s Science Diet dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

• Hill’s Healthy Advantage Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Prescription Diet Weight Reduction R/D Canine Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Prescription Diet Z/D Canine Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Plus Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Grain Free Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Food Review (Canned)