Extrusion Characteristics, Palatability, and Health Implications of Pea Fractions in Dog Food

Trends in the pet food industry follow those of the human food industry. There are growing product launches with claims that position pet food products to have functional attributes that contribute to the health and wellness of pets. Pulse crops, such as peas, have a number of marketable attributes. They are high in protein and fibre, non-genetically modified, gluten free, have a low glycemic index and require less energy to grow than other crops resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissions. All of these attributes have the potential to contribute to pet food product claims. Peas are available to manufacturers of pet food and snacks in several fractionated forms including protein, starch and fibre. One research study determined that incorporating pea fractions individually or in combinations of up to 15% of the final formulation resulted in an extruded product with a stable and predictable density and specific mechanical energy. Palatability results for the protein and starch fraction diets were comparable to the control product and consumption levels were higher for the 15% starch diet (P<0.05) as compared to the other diets. In summary, pea fractions have the potential to add value to final formulations and pea starch may be used to increase the palatability of pet food or snacks.