Safety Message Being Taken Overseas


Approximately one-quarter of annual production of U.S. rendered products is exported. The industry came out of 2003 with record prices for animal fats, greases, and meals; however, the positive case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003 in the United States put a dark cloud over the industry as the year closed. The charge of the National Renderers Association (NRA) going into the next several years will be to convince the world, using science, that U.S. rendered products are of high quality and safe.

Upcoming events related to BSE will help shape the perception of U.S. products in the world’s eyes. This summer, NRA, in close cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will organize product safety conferences in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. These conferences will present scientific information to regulators, importers, and end users of rendered products that answers safety concerns that have surfaced because of BSE and other animal disease issues that have created trade constraints to U.S. exports of rendered products.

The conferences are scheduled for August and September 2004. Preliminary topics will address BSE, biosecurity of rendered products, nutritional and economic value of proteins and fats, and the role of the Office International des Epizooties, now the World Organization of Animal Health. For information on the conferences, contact Kent Swisher at NRA at (703) 683-3561, or e-mail kswisher@nationalrenderers.com.


June 2004 Render