Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a pseudocereal with ancient roots. It gets a great deal of coverage in the human nutrition press as a prospective superfood, especially for novelty cereals, specialty breads and other baking applications. Does this translate in any way to pet foods? Absolutely. Thus, a more thorough coverage of this ancient Central American seed is probably overdue.
There are numerous pet food companies experimenting with this seed, albeit sparingly. The cost has been prohibitive when compared with other grains, legumes or its closest compositional competitor, flaxseed. That may soon change with its growing popularity in human foods as growers respond to market demand and supply chain volumes improve. With this, perhaps chia will become a staple carbohydrate in pet food applications. When this happens, it will be imperative that we know more about this ancient grain.
