PAM was introduced in 1959 by Leon Rubin who, with advertising executive
Arthur Meyerhoff, started PAM Products, Inc. to market the spray. The name PAM is an
acronym for Product of Arthur Meyerhoff. In 1971, Gibraltar Industries merged with
American Home Products and became part of the Boyle-Midway portfolio. By 1985, PAM began to diversify its offerings by developing butter and olive oil sprays. When the company divested its Boyle-Midway Household Products division to
Reckitt & Colman in 1990, PAM was one of the few products American Home Products retained. It later became part of the American Home Foods subsidiary. In 1992, PAM changed its formula to include canola oil in an effort to reduce its saturated fats content and improve taste. In 1996, AHF was acquired from American Home Products by
Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst and
C. Dean Metropoulos & Company, becoming
International Home Foods. In turn, International Home Foods was acquired by Conagra in June 2000. In 2003, PAM introduced a new baking spray including real flour. A variation made specifically for grilling was introduced in 2004. PAM Professional, for high heat applications, debuted in September 2007. At the time of the verdict, there were more than 50 similar cases filed against the company. The litigations stem from a 10 oz. can manufactured between 2011 and 2019 that introduced a U-shape vent on the bottom but has shown to have a lower threshold for heat than previous versions. ==References==