By Tina Caparella
The Animal Protein Producers Industry (APPI) and Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF) also held their annual meetings in October, with APPI kicking off the two days. The group approved its new Code of Practice after years of work (see “APPI Adopts Code of Practice”). The code is a voluntary program that allows the rendering industry to take a proactive stance. FPRF followed with their board meeting, where Don Davis, the foundation’s outgoing chairman, stated that, “a new era in fats and proteins research is beginning.” The foundation is finalizing a partnership with Clemson University for an Animal Co-Products Research Center and actively searching for a new president to assume the position when Dr. Gary Pearl retires April 1, 2005.
“I would personally like to thank Gary for his tireless dedication to FPRF and his sincere belief in the value of the research we have done,” Davis commended. “It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. Pearl and I will miss our weekly telephone calls and the updates on all the happenings within the industry.”
Over the past year, more publications have referenced FPRF projects for rendered products than ever before. There are currently 25 FPRF-funded research projects underway, with five more approved at the meeting focusing on the non-nutritional engineering properties of meat and bone meal; a comparison of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) and Codex assays for tallow; a life cycle analysis for yellow grease, to expand into animal fats, for biodiesel production; the impact of increasing dietary tallow and energy content of grow-finish pig performance; and the digestibility, feed utilization, growth performance, and health criteria assessment of Mediterranean Sea bream fed selected animal by-products. The meeting wrapped up with elections of new officers: Ross Hamilton, Darling International, Inc., chairman; Kevin Kuhni, John Kuhni Sons, Inc., vice chairman; and J.J. Smith, Valley Proteins, Inc., treasurer.
The second day began with APPI’s board meeting, where it was explained that the U.S. government is using the Codex method to test for 0.15 percent impurities in tallow, a requirement for products exported to the European Union (EU). Because many rendering facilities currently use the AOCS method for testing, APPI is working with the government on getting the AOCS test method accepted.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Agriculture Research Service (ARS) has submitted a proposal to APPI to participate in a study of dioxin levels in rendered products. ARS is proposing to collect and analyze 75 to 80 rendered samples, representing a variety of products, for the 17 toxic polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and the two most toxic coplanar PCBs. The agency is also requesting a contribution of $10,400 from APPI to defray the expenses of the study. APPI and the FPRF are collaborating on ways to provide samples without revealing the sources.
The board decided to continue APPI’s Salmonella and Clostridium testing program. Robert Desnoyer, Sanimal, Inc., said pet food companies are now requesting that these tests be performed. It was emphasized that plant workers need to ensure they are collecting the sample correctly and preserving it to avoid contamination.
FPRF’s popular “Emerging Issues and Opportunities Seminar” followed, beginning with Dr. Tom Adams, University of Georgia, explaining pyrolysis, the decompo-sition or transformation of a compound caused by heat. His overview examined the various technologies where pyrolysis is used, including the university’s pyrolysis biorefinery. Products produced include a bio-oil, which can be used as a green diesel, and char, which can be used for air and water emissions control and as a fertilizer.
Dr. Terry Whiting, Veterinary Service, Province of Manitoba, Canada, discussed animal welfare and the new politics of food. He warned that, “People’s moralized values of how we produce food is on the move.” Whiting commented that animal welfare politics is about how people should behave, not about animals, and the most offensive thing to animal activists is animal suffering for profit. While some may disagree, he said “social-cause activist groups” are not evil; they are just another producer with a product.
Dr. Gordon Kaye discussed biological waste management by alkaline hydrolysis, a technology that would only be considered in the rendering industry if the U.S. government banned specified risk materials from animal feed. The technology has been proven and approved by the USDA, who is also currently using it, and approved by the EU for processing Category 1 material. Kaye explained that in a “what if” scenario, the first stage of the rendering system, which is being designed by Atlas-Stord, would be similar to the front end of a low temperature line; the second stage is the alkaline hydrolysis; and the third stage is volume reduction. The pros of the system include recovery of valuable fat; it is based on proven technology; there is a low emission and wastewater load; and the system is easy to implement in existing rendering plants. On the down side are the capital costs of the equipment and chemical costs.
Dr. Layi Adeola addressed the metabolizable energy value of meat and bone meal for pigs. He explained that feed accounts for 60 percent of production costs and that energy is the most expensive component of feed. Adeola’s research project obtained a wide range of meat and bone meal samples, which in turn provided a wide range of energy results, from 1,858 kilocalories (kcal) per kilogram (kg) to 3,301 kcal/kg. The 1998 National Research Council recommends that the metabolizable energy of meat and bone meal be 2,225 kcal/kg.
Joel Newman, president, American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), explained the group’s new Safe Feed/Safe Food program.
“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for all of us, our combined industries, to raise the bar for ourselves and show both the regulators and the consumers that we’re going to do our part, that we’re committed to make sure that we maintain a safe food system for them,” Newman began. Multiple agencies and associations contributed input towards the development of the program, including FPRF and the Food and Drug Administration, which is designed to ensure continuous improvement in the delivery of a safe and wholesome feed supply for the growth and care of animals. An explanation of the program can be found in the “Newsline” column.
Biodiesel took center stage next, beginning with Christine Paquette, Biodiesel Association of Canada (BAC). She said that Canada’s Climate Change Action Plan of 2002 targets 500 million liters (132 mil-lion gallons) of biodiesel production per year by 2010, a fairly aggressive number. Current use is about five million liters (1.3 million gallons) annually. Paquette explained that despite challenges such as quantity of feedstock supply, fuel quality, end-use, and financing, the biodiesel industry in Canada has gone from “zero to 60” in one-and-a-half years.
“Biodiesel is the hottest and sexiest thing going on in Canada right now,” she commented. The driving force behind that excitement has been fleet managers, with the leaders being the municipalities (i.e., transit, public works fleets, emergency vehicles). BAC is working on presenting a workshop and trade show next spring.
Mark Farrer, Best Biofuels, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, Inc., addressed biodiesel production using brown grease. He explained that brown grease, which is high in free fatty acids (FFAs), is one of the more difficult feedstocks to use in biodiesel production. Challenges include moisture, which leads to increased FFAs, impedes esterification reaction, and can cause soap formation; insolubles, which also impede esterification; and unsaponifiables, which mainly affect biodiesel properties such as ash, viscocity, and carbon residue. While biodiesel from brown grease tends to have a slightly darker color than that produced from other feedstocks, the color can be removed by bleaching. Reasons for using brown grease in biodiesel production include an abundance of supply, lower cost compared to other feedstocks, and diminishing markets for other uses.
Wrapping up the seminar was Dr. Chuck Schasteen, Novus International, who discussed organic acid use in protein meals. All seminar presentations are being made available on FPRF’s Web site at www.fprf.org.
December 2004 Render