Peas

The pea is a legume increasingly found in premium foods, especially [grain-free](/glossary/grain-free) recipes, supplying carbohydrate, fibre and a share of plant protein, and in an extruded kibble peas and their fractions (such as pea concentrate or pea flour) act as a binder and starch source. This use raises an assessment question that is easy to overlook: a recipe may list several pea fractions at different points in the ingredient list, and added together those fractions can make up a notable share of the food, which makes it harder to read the true share of animal protein. Peas are among the ingredients examined in the FDA investigation into a possible link between some grain-free diets and cases of [dilated cardiomyopathy](/glossary/dcm-dilated-cardiomyopathy-grain-free-debate) in dogs; no causal mechanism has been established to date, and the investigation has reached no conclusion (FDA CVM, Dec 2022 update). Editorial caution requires presenting this as an open question, not as proof, and consulting a vet before changing diet. Peas remain an acceptable ingredient in reasonable amounts (FEDIAF). The marker: watch the number of distinct plant fractions in the list, a technique that applies equally to [lentils](/glossary/lentils) and [chickpea](/glossary/chickpea), and weigh the result against the [potato and sweet potato](/glossary/potato-sweet-potato) content of grain-free recipes.

Petipedia · Editorial team

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