Legume pulse
Peas
plant protein controversial
Legume widely flagged as one of the most dangerous commercial-food ingredients for ferrets; appears in ORIJEN Regional Red, Instinct Original, and Wellness CORE. Subject to ingredient splitting (pea protein, pea fiber, pea flour, pea starch).
Why it's debated: Legumes are specifically linked to kidney/bladder stones; ferrets on legume-containing diets were 57.9x more likely to develop cystine bladder stones, and peas raise urine pH promoting struvite/cystine stones. Ferret.love auto-scores any kibble with even trace peas a 0. Documented surgeries and deaths.
Foods listing this ingredient
Sources: https://www.petfoodindustry.com/news-newsletters/pet-food-news/article/15468278/label-pea-protein-cat-food-as-not-for-ferrets-vet-says , https://ferret.love/pages/rankings