Low-grain

Low-grain describes a food containing a small proportion of cereal grains, positioned between conventional cereal-based recipes and fully [grain-free](/glossary/grain-free) ones. The term is unregulated and the actual amount of grain varies between manufacturers, so it carries no fixed meaning (marketing claim, unregulated). The label often appeals to owners who want to limit cereals without removing them entirely, sometimes in the belief that grains are inherently problematic, a view the evidence does not support: well-cooked cereals such as [maize](/glossary/maize-corn), [rice](/glossary/rice) and [wheat](/glossary/wheat) are digestible and rarely the main allergens. A useful point of context: reducing grain does not automatically lower carbohydrate, since the starch may simply be supplied by legumes or tubers instead, and those ingredients ([peas](/glossary/peas), [lentils](/glossary/lentils), [potato and sweet potato](/glossary/potato-sweet-potato)) are the ones featured in the FDA [dilated cardiomyopathy](/glossary/dcm-dilated-cardiomyopathy-grain-free-debate) investigation (FDA CVM, Dec 2022 update). The marker: low-grain is a flexible marketing term rather than a nutritional standard, so the recipe should be read for what actually replaces the grain. It sits with grain-free among the carbohydrate-positioning claims that benefit from sceptical reading in the [Petipedia glossary](/glossary).

Petipedia · Editorial team

General documentary information. For an individual animal, a veterinarian's advice takes precedence over any online content.