Driving Advances In Pet Nutrition And Wellbeing For 50 Years

The WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition is a leading scientific authority in pet nutrition and wellbeing and has been advancing the frontiers of scientific research into the nutrition and health of companion animals for 50 years. WALTHAM® provides the cutting-edge science and expertise that drives the Mars Petcare vision to create a better world for pets, and underpins Mars Petcare brands, such as WHISKAS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN and many more.

This year, WALTHAM® is celebrating 50 years since the publication of its first piece of original research in 1963. Since then, WALTHAM® has pioneered many important breakthroughs in the field of pet nutrition and human-animal interaction.

“At WALTHAM®, we are committed to pursuing high-quality, innovative science that puts pets and their welfare at its core. In collaboration with some of the world’s foremost scientific institutes, we have driven significant advances over the past 50 years that have furthered understanding of pet health and nutrition and enabled the development of innovative products that meet pets’ needs in a practical way,” commented Kay O’Donnell, VP of the WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition, Global Petcare.

Some of these key advances include:

- 1963 First original research paper published by WALTHAM®
- 1965 Mars’ first pet nutrition research facility is opened on the Melton Mowbray (UK) site
- 1973 Pet nutrition research facility moves to current site – The WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition is born
- 1973 First edition of Pedigree Digest, the first WALTHAM® quarterly publication for vets and breeders
- 1982 WALTHAM® determines the levels of taurine - an essential nutrient for cats – that are needed in wet and dry cat foods
- 1987 WALTHAM® hosts their first open-access international symposium in Hannover, Germany
- 1990 New dog and cat housing is built at WALTHAM® with novel environmentally-enriched design
- 1991 WALTHAM® publishes first edition of WALTHAM® Focus – an international journal for veterinarians
- 1995 WALTHAM® scientists develop the first diet to help control the formation of both struvite and calcium oxalate bladder stones in cats
- 1997 WALTHAM® determines patent protected levels of zinc and linoleic acid for dog skin and coat condition
- 1999 WALTHAM® produces the first diet low in phosphorus and protein proven to double the life expectancy of cats diagnosed with chronic kidney disease
- 2000 WALTHAM® researchers demonstrate the benefits of dietary antioxidants on puppy and kitten immune health
- 2003 WALTHAM® determines the macronutrient profile of food preferred by cats
- 2005 WALTHAM® determines that cats do not have functional taste receptors for sugar
- 2008 Partnership between WALTHAM® and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health & Human Development is established to drive collaborative research into human-animal interactions
- 2009 In collaboration with FEDIAF, the European pet food industry federation, and key academics, WALTHAM® establishes a new safe upper limit for vitamin A during early growth in puppies
- 2012 WALTHAM® researchers demonstrate that cats are able to consume a diet relatively high in saturated fat without adverse health effects

WALTHAM® pursues a partnership-driven approach to ensure it is at the forefront of the latest scientific developments and discoveries. This also enables WALTHAM® to communicate and share its knowledge with veterinary professionals and the petcare community worldwide. As part of this commitment, WALTHAM® hosts the WALTHAM® International Nutritional Sciences Symposium (WINSS) conference that brings together leading researchers in pet nutrition. This year, WALTHAM® will be hosting the fifth WINSS from 1-4 October, 2013 in Oregon, US. The Symposium is co-sponsored by Banfield Pet HospitalTM, the European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN) and the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) and will bring together the world’s most influential pet nutrition academics to discuss current and future research and celebrate 50 years of WALTHAM® science.


About the WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition:

Celebrating 50 years of innovative science, the WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition serves as a leading scientific authority in advancing the frontiers of research into the nutrition and health of companion animals. Located in Leicestershire, England, the renowned state-of-the-art science institute for Mars, Incorporated generates knowledge that enables the development of innovative products that meet pets’ needs in a practical way. Since the publication of its first original research in 1963, WALTHAM® has pioneered many important breakthroughs in the field of pet nutrition and human-animal interaction, resulting in more than 1,700 publications, including over 600 peer-review scientific papers. Today, WALTHAM® continues to collaborate with the world’s foremost scientific institutes, driving Mars’ Petcare vision to create a better world for pets and providing the science and expertise that underpins leading Mars brands such as WHISKAS®, PEDIGREE®, NUTRO®, TRILL®, CESAR®, SHEBA®, KITEKAT®, DREAMIES™, AQUARIAN®, WINERGY®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital and the ROYAL CANIN brand.

For more information, please visit www.waltham.com and www.mars.com