Split Peas

I made a split pea soup in the slow cooker this week  My recipes don't call for soaking the peas beforehand, but the bag of split peas had a safety notice that warned the split peas must be soaked overnight and boiled for at least ten minutes before using in a slow cooker.  Has anyone else encountered this?

I followed the advice on the bag and the soup turned out fine.  Now I'm wondering what's the point of split peas (as opposed to whole dried peas) if they don't absorb water any quicker?  How are they split anyway?  What's unsafe about them if they aren't pre-soaked?

I think the safety aspect is the "10 mins boiling" rather than the soaking.

Some dried beans have a toxin in them that needs a boil to kill it, slow cookers don't get hot enough by them selves so you need to pre boil.

Okay, thanks.