One of the highlights of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF) meeting was the approval of a long-awaited contract with Clemson University for the establishment of the Animal Co-Products Research and Education Center, which takes effect July 1, 2005. The three-year agreement with Clemson provides research opportunities in several targeted areas, including safety, environment, and new product development. While several projects to be conducted by the Clemson staff have been proposed, suggestions for areas of research the industry feels are important are welcome.
Besides the Clemson projects proposed, the FPRF Research Committee evaluated over 31 individual research projects, eventually approving five and targeting three others for fine-tuning and future implementation. The funded projects include: assessment of Mediterranean Sea Bream fed selected animal by-products; improving fat utilization by young pigs; effect of high peroxide value fats on performance of broilers; nutritive value of rendered animal proteins and fats for aquaculture species; and enzymatic hydrolysis of meat and bone meal protein for simultaneous prion destruction.
Another important milestone for FPRF included the approval to evaluate a management agreement with the National Renderers Association (NRA). With FPRF’s president, Dr. Gary Pearl, retiring and a replacement search underway, it was decided that having NRA manage the administrative duties of FPRF could be a benefit to the foundation.
The Animal Protein Producers Industry (APPI) held their committee and board of directors meetings prior to FPRF’s Emerging Issues and Opportunities seminar. Carl Wintzer, APPI chairman, praised Dr. David Meeker, who was hired last year as the group’s president.
“APPI’s in good shape and in good hands with Dr. Meeker,” Wintzer commented. Meeker then informed the group about the reestablishment of APPI’s continuing education program, with three sessions scheduled for this year (see “Newsline,” page 8). He then addressed APPI’s Code of Practice, established last fall to promote the safety of animal proteins and rendered fats for feed use through the establishment of process controls and accreditation to verify the controls are in place. Meeker said that the volunteer audits conducted under the code could be used to qualify for the American Feed Industry Association’s Safe Feed/Safe Food program. In an effort to encourage member companies to become accredited, APPI is offering a $500 credit towards a certified audit if completed by October 2006. The current cost of an audit is $1,100 plus travel expenses.
Judy O’Brien, NP Analytical Laboratories, presented the results of APPI’s Salmonella testing program for 2004. The positive incidence rates among samples from packer renderers, individual renderers, poultry processors, and renderer/blenders remain low, ranging from two to four percent, while positive samples from protein blenders averaged 61 percent for 2004. Wintzer suggested testing at various points in the processing line to determine where the Salmonella contamination is occurring.
A merger proposal from NRA drew much discussion. Under the offer, APPI would become a standing committee of NRA. Mike Smith, Valley Proteins, Inc., is a strong supporter of the merger.
“The main focus here is to consolidate and help us become more efficient,” he commented. “We’d have a much stronger voice as one voice for the industry.” One question raised is whether APPI members who are not NRA members would still be able to remain in the organization. Another concern brought up was ensuring APPI remains independent. It was decided to investigate the matter further before making a decision.
FPRF’s seminar got underway with Rodney Semotiuk, Advanced Technologies and Fuels Canada, Inc., reviewing a nearly completed report on the risk of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and other toxicants in biodiesel manufactured from animal fats. One area the project is examining is if engine combustion and the biodiesel production process have a factor in deactivating TSEs and toxins. Several U.S. and Canadian renderers in attendance voiced their concerns that the study would label tallow as hazardous when World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) standards stipulate that tallow at .015 percent impurities is safe. The report is due for release June 21, 2005, at a workshop in Canada.
Other speakers in the morning session included William Ayres, Renewable Solutions, LLC, who discussed burning grease for generating electricity and using waste heat for steam production, and Ernest Shea, Natural Resources Solutions, LLC, who is formulating a collaboration of agriculture and business leaders to expand agriculture’s role in ensuring U.S. energy independence.
Dr. Ken Bryant, Akey, Inc., opened the afternoon with a discussion on the swine industry, which has seen good profitability and record production the past year. He said there are approximately 73,000 pork producers in the United States, with 45 percent of the industry in the hands of 26 companies that have over 25,000 sows. Bryant stated there is a concern over digestibility of fats, especially in young pigs, and a growing consumer perception of feeding animal proteins back to animals. However, he believes rendered products are important ingredients in swine rations.
“You need to keep telling your story about the nutritional merits of your product,” Bryant challenged. “We appreciate your products and we appreciate the value they bring to us, our customers, and our feeding program.” Akey conducts over 100 swine feeding trials per year, with half of those performed in the piglet nursery alone.
Dr. Alfred Montgomery, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine, discussed the bioterrorism relationship to the feed and rendering industry, warning, “BSE [bovine spongiform encephalopathy] will look like a picnic if we ever get foot and mouth disease in this country.” He explained that the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, which was recently finalized by the Department of Homeland Security, now includes food and animal feed as part of the nation’s infrastructure.
“The plan does state that animal feeds and feed commodities are high-value targets with disease-causing microorganisms or chemical toxins and that either could have a devastating effect on the American food supply,” Montgomery commented.
Dr. Tom Scott, Clemson University, reviewed research conducted on bovine and swine mammary gland tissues, and Dr. Stewart McGlashan, Meat and Livestock Australia, discussed the organization’s agenda for exploring new use applications for animal co-products.
The following day, NRA’s committees addressed an array of topics, including an update on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA’s) review of submitted responses to the agency’s proposed animal feed regulation amendments. Humphry Koch, West Coast Reduction, Ltd., commented there is currently a political crisis brewing in Canada that could result in an election and delay CFIA’s decision.
During the TSE Committee meeting, Dr. Andrea Morgan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), updated activities on the BSE surveillance program via a conference call and commended the industry’s assistance with the testing.
“Cooperation from the renderers has been remarkable,” she stated. “We could not have done this without the cooperation of you all.” Morgan commented that APHIS is currently working on transitioning from the accelerated testing program to a more manageable regiment since there is no scientific evidence that warrants continued surveillance at the enhanced level.
The Legislative Committee discussed efforts by some to broaden the agri-biodiesel definition in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which provides federal excise tax credits for biodiesel. There is concern that any attempts at modifying the existing regulation could result in all feedstocks being eliminated for credits.
Steve Kopperud, Policy Directives, explained that FDA is pushing to make their Animal Feed Safety System mandatory, despite the objections of affected industries that say it is not necessary due to voluntary control processes already in place. He said FDA believes they need to regulate processes; currently they only regulate the end product.
International markets took center stage next, beginning with Neville Chandler, NRA regional director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He recapped a soap trial that showed wet cracking occurred less in tallow-based soap than in soap made from palm oil, then shared the outcome of a recent trip to the United States by two Egyptian feed representatives. Egypt banned the importation of U.S. meat and bone meal after a single case of BSE was discovered in the state of Washington in December 2003, eventually extending the ban to poultry by-product meal due to meat and bone meal contamination fears. The visitors said they were pleased at the protections in place at poultry meal processing plants in the United States to prevent any contamination and would report their findings to Egyptian officials.
“I think the situation is good we’ll be able to get poultry by-product meal and poultry meal back into Egypt again,” Chandler commented.
German Davalos, NRA regional director for Latin America, highlighted proposed legislation in Mexico that would impose new, higher inspection fees on imported products for human and animal consumption. He also suggested various locations for the International Market Development Committee’s (IMDC’s) planning meeting scheduled for February 2006 in Mexico. The goal is to meet with prospective buyers and possibly tour an aquaculture or terminal facility.
Kent Swisher, NRA International Programs, shared how Foreign Market Development and Market Access Program funds were spent last year within the various regions: $763,000 in Asia; $402,202 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; $379,500 in Latin America; and $23,696 for program support such as staff travel. He highly encouraged anyone, even non-IMDC members, that has business expenses related to export markets provide the NRA with copies of expense receipts so costs can be applied towards in-kind contributions and be eligible for matching government funds.
The last day of the meetings began with NRA Eastern Region members gathering to discuss matters, beginning with the election of Richard Baas, Inland Products, Inc., as treasurer, and the decision to assign the secretary responsibilities to the president, which is currently held by Michael Smith, Valley Proteins, Inc. The group donated $4,000 to the IMDC and $4,000 to FPRF for their new Animal Co-Products Research and Education Center, and decided to sponsor a cocktail reception at APPI’s continuing education program being held in Charlotte, NC, in September.
The NRA Board of Directors wrapped up the meeting session, deciding to classify blood processing under active membership, prepare to reprint the North American Rendering brochure, and move the NRA headquarters office to a suite next door to provide additional office space. Davalos explained to the board that U.S. rendering plants exporting to Mexico need to be re-inspected by APHIS no later than April 30, 2006, and Canadian plants need re-inspection by CFIA by June 30, 2005.
The three groups will next meet October 25-28, 2005, at Lake Las Vegas, NV.
June 2005 Render