Starting off the four-day industry meeting, the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF) Board of Directors approved and funded two timely projects presented by Clemson University researchers that will be conducted at the newly dedicated Animal Co-Products Research and Education Center (ACREC). The first project seeks to develop remote sensing methods of validating the thermal process that occurs within rendering materials in a cooker and validate the rendering cooker time and temperature parameters. The second study aims to develop methods of detecting the avian influenza (AI) virus within rendering materials using polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA, technologies and to determine the effectiveness of the rendering process to destroy the AI virus. Both projects were scheduled to begin May 1, 2006.
Meeting next, the National Renderers Association (NRA) Animal Protein Producers Industry (APPI) Committee agreed with the importance of the two ACREC research projects, dedicating additional funding to the studies. Dr. David Meeker, APPI past president, informed the committee that seven rendering plants have been certified as meeting the industry’s Code of Practice standards, 41 Salmonella education kits have been sold, and an Institute of Continuing Education training session would be held June 27-28, 2006, in Moline, IL.
“The educational programs are going very well,” Meeker commented. “The members have been very supportive.”
On the second day, FPRF’s popular Emerging Issues and Opportunities Seminar returned, beginning with Dr. Albert Tacon, University of Hawaii, presenting the challenges and opportunities in aquaculture, which has been the fastest growing food sector for the past 20 years. Aquaculture is an Asian phenomenon, with 70 percent of the production being in China.
“China is big and it is hungry,” stated Tacon, importing two million metric tons of fish meal per year. The biggest global challenges within the industry are the static and finite supplies of fish meal and oil, and the rising prices of the commodities. With fish farmers receiving less for their product because of increasing demand and the cost of production going up, especially among feed ingredients, Tacon said cheaper feed ingredients are being sought, including animal by-products. However, one renderer pointed out to Tacon that although research has proven that animal by-products are an excellent replacement for fish meal in aquaculture diets, trade restrictions are making it a problem in getting U.S. and Canadian rendered products into international markets for use in the aquaculture industry.
Next up was Dr. Amod Ogale, Clemson University, who presented potential niche applications for animal by-products, such as oil spill containment. He is currently conducting research to produce “melt-processed” secondary geostructural materials using feather meal.
Dr. Annel Greene, also from Clemson, shared the success of the recent ACREC dedication ceremony, recapped the nine completed projects and 11 new projects that will be undertaken at the center, and provided some guidelines on how to ensure the success of ACREC. She emphasized that external funding is needed to increase the research capabilities, including making contacts in Washington, DC, to tap into sources of federal funding. Greene also asked attendees about possible internships at rendering facilities for Clemson students working on ACREC projects.
Covering the pet food market, which was a $53 billion global industry in 2004, was Dr. Greg Aldrich, Pet Food and Ingredient Technology. He said there has been a shift in the industry on how pets are treated, from previously being considered “livestock” to now being part of the family, which is helping to fuel the annual $13.4 billion in U.S. pet food sales. The biggest change in the pet food industry is the introduction of “natural” products, which are free from antioxidants and other additives.
Aldrich reminded attendees that when is comes to pet nutrition, “a dog is not a furry pig” and a feline is “not a small dog,” that both have very specific nutritional needs. Canines are omnivores with carnivore tendencies, do not require carbohydrates in their diets, require linoleic acid, and have a tremendous oxidative capacity. Felines on the other hand are carnivores – they “live and breath for a meat diet” – and require a high protein metabolism diet. Aldrich envisions several emerging trends in pet food within the next five to 10 years:
• multiple animal indoor diets;
• holistic, natural, and organic foods;
• behavior and training dietary enhancements;
• raw and home prepared diets; and
• ultra-high protein diets.
Aldrich commented that research shows behavior is linked to nutrition and can actually be enhanced with rendered proteins and fats. He also stated that calcium and phosphorous are “enemies” in dog and cat food diets, and that very little research has been published on oxidized fats in pet nutrition.
FPRF President Dr. Sergio Nates wrapped up the seminar with an in-depth review of shrimp, which thrive on high protein levels ranging from 40 to 60 percent. Fat levels in shrimp diets run about 10 percent, and the quality of the shrimp depends on what they eat.
The third day was reserved for NRA committee meetings, beginning with the Communications Committee. Meeker provided an update on the industry’s new book currently in the editing stage. He informed the committee that FPRF and APPI have each contributed funding towards the printing costs and that the book is scheduled for release at the NRA convention in October.
The Environmental Committee met next, where Meeker encouraged participation in the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, a nonprofit organization that assembles, interprets, and communicates to policymakers credible, science-based information on food, agriculture, and the environment. Robert Griffin, Griffin Industries, said he has been in discussions with state veterinarians regarding AI and feels the biggest concern is transportation of depopulated birds. The committee suggested working with poultry companies and associations on the best solution for disposal of AI positive flocks.
The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Committee gathered to hear an update on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) enhanced surveillance program from Dr. Lisa Ferguson, USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. She said the agency is taking the surveillance data and completing a detailed analysis on the prevalence of BSE in the United States (see “Newsline” on page 8). Ferguson also informed the committee that the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has made significant changes to its surveillance code, including a “weighted” scheme that looks at the various types of animals and ages being tested. USDA is still planning to scale back the enhanced surveillance program sometime in the future and update a model risk assessment to determine the risk of BSE in the United States.
The Legislative Committee voted to support the 25x’25 coalition that envisions 25 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States be produced in the country by the year 2025, and reminded members of the importance of participating in the NRA Congressional Fly-In June 12-14, 2006. Mike Reiser, Valley Proteins, recommended that the committee work to get rendered products included in the Farm Bill as biofuels, and not just biodiesel, to qualify for federal tax credits when used as a straight fuel.
The International Market Development Committee (IMDC) heard various reports on the overseas market, beginning with German Davalos, NRA regional director, Latin America, who explained that fish meal (65 percent crude protein) prices have gone up dramatically in the past four months, with current prices at $880 per metric ton out of Peru, providing an opportunity for animal protein use in fish meal. He will be holding a regional fish meal replacement seminar July 27-28, 2006, in Panama City, Panama, and traveling to Cuba to explore the possibility of animal protein use in fish meal there after Fidel Castro gave an order to find a fish meal replacement due to the commodity’s high price.
“I think it’s worth it for us to explore,” Davalos stated. Kent Swisher, vice president, NRA International Programs, said that although government funding cannot be used in Cuba and renderers would need to obtain an export permit from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Cuba “is a nice little niche market.”
Swisher touched briefly on proposed changes to the OIE BSE categories, which includes a country being classified as “negligible risk” if a BSE positive animal was born before a feed ban was put in place, and discussed the opportunity for rendered fats in the growing biodiesel market in the European Union.
The NRA Board of Directors met the last day, where NRA President Tom Cook announced that Meeker has been appointed to the USDA Foreign Animal Disease Committee. Swisher stated that the IMDC received a 13 percent increase in government funding for this fiscal year, and then accepted two generous contributions from renderers: $4,000 from the Eastern Region Renderers Association and $22,000 from the Pacific Coast Renderers Association.
The industry associations will meet again October 23-27, 2006, in Laguna Niguel, CA.
June 2006 Render