Innovation in the rendering industry

Jessica Meisinger, Ph.D.

How did I get here?

Fats and Proteins Research Foundation

• Founded in 1962

• Direct and manage a research process that results in an enhanced current usage and the development of new uses for rendered animal products

– Nutrition, biosecurity, food safety, non-feed uses, biofuel

• Completed over 575 projects

FPRF Research Funding

• Robust research program

• Two funding streams

– At-large

– ACREC

At Large

• Currently funding over $300,000 worth of research

• Currently focused on animal nutrition

• RFPs due twice a year, in April and October

Replacing Fish Oil

• Jesse Trushenski, SIU

• Determine the relative requirements of LC-PUFA

• Fish meal and fish oil sources are diminishing

– Few sources of EFA

• Using rendered animal fats that are rich in SFA

– Beef tallow

– Atlantic salmon, hybrid striped bass, pompano

Adding Value to Rendered Products in Relation to Aquaculture

• Dominique Bureau, University of Guelph

• Fine characterization of the nutritional content of rendered proteins with emphasis on minor nutrients and minerals

• Evaluate processing techniques and food additives to improve digestibility of nutrients

• Develop and evaluate high digestible nutrient density “low pollution” ingredients for use with carnivorous fish such as salmon

• Develop and evaluate lower economical value high ash animal proteins for tropical/warm water species such as Nile tilapia or shrimp

• Modify and validate an existing phosphorus digestibility model developed for salmonid fish to other fish species

TONS of publications

• At least:

– 5+ peer-reviewed journal articles

– 24+ presentations

– 6+ publications in technical or trade publications

Phosphorus and Amino Acid Digestibility

• Hans Stein, University of Illinois

• Measure the digestibility of phosphorus and amino acids in 8

sources of MBM

– Estimate variation among sources

– Create a prediction equation AA and P concentration in MBM

– Better understanding of nutrients leads to more usage

Still in progress

• Manuscript published in Journal of Animal Science

• Determine apparent total tract digestibility of P and Ca and the standardized total tract digestibility of P in 8 different sources of MBM and to develop equations to predict digestibility.

• Conclusion– “P and Ca digestibility varies among sources of MBM but prediction equations using the concentration of total P in MBM may be used to estimate P and Ca digestibility in MBM fed to growing pigs”

• Still working on AA piece

Pet Food

• Greg Aldrich, KSU

• “Evaluation of techniques used to extend shelf-life and methods for analysis of rendered protein meals in pet foods”

• Methods for analysis of rendered protein meals

• Determine the efficacy of rapid methods like SafTest relative to conventional methods for measures of oxidation

• Determine best practices for confirming preservative application

• Determine the effects of particle size on the efficacy of antioxidant dispersal, coverage, and oxidative stability

• Determine the effects of various carriers and preservative systems on the stability of rendered protein meals under various environmental and handling conditions

Pet Food

• Greg Aldrich, KSU • “The impact of rendered protein meal level of

oxidation on shelf life and acceptability in extruded pet foods”

• Determine the effect of incorporating increasing levels of oxidation in rendered protein meals on markers of oxidation in extruded pet food

• Determine the effect of increasing rancid ingredients on the shelf-life and acceptability of extruded pet foods

• Use regression analysis to determine the amount of oxidation (PV) that could be allowed in a rendered protein meal without negatively affecting the shelf-life and acceptability of the finished pet food

Pet Food

• Cassandra Jones

• Assess the efficacy of chemical additives to control Salmonella recontamination in rendered by-products – Formaldehyde

– Sodium bisulfate

– Organic acid blend

– Medium chain fatty acid blend

– Essential oil blend

• Porcine MBM, PBM, porcine blood meal, FM

Co-funding

• National Pork Board funded a sister project that includes inoculation of rendered proteins with PEDv in addition to Salmonella.

New TDT projects

In the process of funding

• Determination of D and Z values on Salmonella species in rendered products

• Determining the process lethality of Salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7 in heat treated, rendered meat and poultry products

• Determination of Salmonella thermal destruction times for rendering of chicken by-product meal

ACREC Mission Statement

• To advance the science and technology of animal co-

products and the rendering process.

• To ensure microbial safety of rendered products for

animal feeds and consumer protection.

• Promote environmentally sound practices.

• Develops new market opportunities for the worldwide

rendering industry.

• Provides educational opportunities in animal co-product

utilization.

ACREC

– Chemical engineering

– Microbiology

– Materials science and

engineering

– Bioengineering

– Mechanical engineering

– Animal science

– Food science

– Packaging science

– Biological science

– Experimental statistics

– Chemistry

– Architecture

– Environmental engineering

– Automotive engineering

– Agricultural engineering

– Soils

– Turfgrass

– Environmental toxicology

– Horticulture

– Computer science.

• Approximately 50 total since 2004.

• More than 40 researchers from a variety of fields

• Interdisciplinary, innovative projects

Wastewater Treatment

• Scott Husson

• Advanced wastewater filtration methods to remove solids

without the need for chemicals, using membranes

– Environmentally friendly

– Cost effective

• Could be valuable tool to

meet regulator limits

• Could capture more product

Antioxidant Production

• Vladimir Reukov and Alexey Vertegel

• Producing a novel antioxidant that is both natural,

effective, and cost-effective.

• Potent antioxidant from animal by-products

• As effective or better than available antioxidants

Odor Elimination

• Daniel Whitehead and Frank Alexis

• Destroying malodorants with biodegradable nanoparticles

• Using nanoparticles to target and eliminate odors

• Proved the ability to capture short chain FA pollutants

• Proved the nanoparticles are non-toxic, biodegradable

• Working on proving selectivity for specific functional groups

– carboxylic acids

– sulfides

• Hexanal headspace analysis

• Could lead to effective odor control

• Nontoxic

Salmonella Reduction Using

Bacteriophages

• Xiuping Jiang

• FDA approved bacteriophages as food additive in 2006 to

fight listeria in ready-to-eat meats.

• Bacteriophages work in the lab against salmonella, now

testing in rendering plant and vs. biofilms.

Feather Meal Safety

• Joseph Thrasher

• Johns Hopkins published a damaging study that found

contamination in feather meal

• Re-evaluating legitimate samples to refute their

assertions, or find source of problem

• Funded by PPFC

Renderable Gloves

• Andrew Hurley

• Searched a number of candidate materials to find a

replacement for polyethylene collection bags

• Found new biodegradable polymers and developed

improved bags to line rendering collection barrels

• Improving finished fat and protein quality and safety

• Finished gloves

Separating fat from protein

• Chris Kitchens

• Use liquid CO2 to more effectively extract fats from proteins

• Re-engineering the press

Conversion of rendered animal fats to value added fats

• Mark Blenner

• Polyunsaturated fatty acids are in high demand and sell for a premium

• Convert rendered animal fats into value added molecules like polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found in fish oils

Engineering of rendered protein materials for cars

• Srikanth Pilla

• A high-value non-feed use

• Develop high strength composites for performance uses

Other Recent Research

• Carbon footprint

• Lifecycle analysis for GHG emissions

RESEARCH FPRF FUNDS HELPS THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY AND FOOD CHAIN

• Sustainability? Odor issues? Everybody’s problem

• Consider joining FPRF if you are not a member

Render magazine

Conclusions

• Active research program

• Innovation!

• Currently focused on pet food, plant operations,

microbiology

• Exploring better lab-to-market paths for inventions

Questions?