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{{Short description|Conversion of waste animal tissue}}
'''Rendering''' is a process that converts waste animal ] into stable, value-added materials. Rendering can refer generally to any processing of animal byproducts into more useful materials, or more narrowly to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like ] or ]. Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, farm, or kitchen scale.
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=February 2019}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=November 2022}}
}}
'''Rendering''' is a process that converts waste animal ] into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of ]s into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like ] or ]. Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, farm, or kitchen scale. It can also be applied to non-animal products that are rendered down to pulp. The rendering process simultaneously dries the material and separates the fat from the ] and ], yielding a fat ] and a protein ].


== Input sources ==
The majority of tissue processed comes from ]s but also includes restaurant grease and butcher shop trimmings, expired meat from grocery stores, the carcasses of euthanized and dead animals from animal shelters, zoos and veterinarians. This material can include the ]ty tissue, bones, and ], as well as entire carcasses of animals condemned at slaughterhouses, and those that have died on farms (]), in transit, etc. The most common animal sources are ], ], ], ] and ] just to name a few.
In animal products, the majority of tissue processed comes from ]s, but also includes restaurant grease, butcher shop trimmings, and expired meat from grocery stores. This material can include the ]ty tissue, bones, and ], as well as entire carcasses of animals condemned at slaughterhouses and those that have died on farms, in transit, etc. The most common animal sources are ], ], ], and ].


== Process variations ==
The rendering process simultaneously dries the material and separates the fat from the ] and ]. A rendering process yields a fat ] (yellow grease, choice white grease, bleachable fancy ], etc.) and a protein meal (], poultry byproduct meal, etc.).
The rendering process varies in a number of ways:
* Whether the end products are used as human or animal food depends on the quality of input material and the processing methods and equipment.
* The material may be processed by wet or dry means.
**In wet processing, either boiling water or steam is added to the material, separating fat into a floating phase.
**In dry processing, fat is released by dehydrating the raw material.
* The temperature range used may be high or low.
* Rendering may be done either in discrete batches or in a continuous process.
* The processing plant may be operated by an independent company that buys input material from suppliers, or by a packing plant that produces the material in-house.


=== Edible products ===
Rendering plants often also handle other materials, such as slaughterhouse ], ]s and ], but do so using processes distinct from true rendering.
Edible rendering processes are basically meat processing operations and produce ] or edible ] for use in food products. Edible rendering is generally carried out in a continuous process at low temperature (less than the boiling point of water). The process usually consists of finely chopping the edible fat materials (generally fat trimmings from meat cuts), heating them with or without added steam, and then carrying out two or more stages of ]. The first stage separates the liquid water and fat mixture from the solids. The second stage further separates the fat from the water. The solids may be used in food products, pet foods, etc., depending on the original materials. The separated fat may be used in food products, or if in surplus, may be diverted to soap making operations. Most edible rendering is done by meat packing or processing companies.


=== Inedible products ===
==Process variations==
Materials that for aesthetic or sanitary reasons are not suitable for human food are the feedstocks for inedible rendering processes. Much of the inedible raw material is rendered using the "dry" method. This may be a batch or a continuous process in which the material is heated in a steam-jacketed vessel to drive off the moisture and simultaneously release the fat from the fat cells. The material is first ground, then heated to release the fat and drive off the moisture, percolated to drain off the free fat, and then more fat is pressed out of the solids, which at this stage are called "cracklings" or "dry-rendered tankage". The cracklings are further ground to make meat and ].
The rendering process varies from plant to plant in a number of ways.
# Whether the end products are to be used as human food is based on the type of raw material and the processing methods.
#Whether the end products are to be used as animal or pet food
#The material may be processed wet or dry. In wet processing, either boiling water or steam is added to the material causing fat to rise to the surface, while in dry processing, fat is released by dehydrating the raw material.
#The temperature range used, whether high or low.
#Processing may be either in discrete batches or in a continuous process.
#The processing plant may be operated by an independent company that collects the material on the open market, or by the packing plant that produced the material.


A variation on a dry process involves finely chopping the material, fluidizing it with hot fat, and then evaporating the mixture in one or more evaporator stages. Some inedible rendering is done using a wet process, which is generally a continuous process similar in some ways to that used for edible materials. The material is heated with added steam and then pressed to remove a water-fat mixture that is then separated into fat, water, and fine solids by stages of centrifuging and/or evaporation. The solids from the press are dried and then ground into meat and bone meal. Most independent renderers process only inedible material.
== Rendering processes for edible products ==
Edible rendering processes are basically meat processing operations and produce ] or edible tallow for use in food products. Edible rendering is generally carried out in a continuous process at low temperature (less than the boiling point of water). The process usually consists of finely chopping the edible fat materials (generally fat trimmings from meat cuts), heating them with or without added steam, and then carrying out two or more stages of centrifugal separation. The first stage separates the liquid water and fat mixture from the solids. The second stage further separates the fat from the water. The solids may be used in food products, pet foods, etc, depending on the original materials. The separated fat may be used in food products, or if in surplus, it may be diverted to soap making operations. Most edible rendering is done by meat packing or processing companies.


=== Kitchen scale ===
An alternative process cooks slaughterhouse offal to produce a thick lumpy ''stew'' which is then sold to the pet-food industry to be used principally as tinned ] and ] foods. Such plants are notable for the offensive odour that they can produce and are often sited well away from human habitation.
Rendering of fats is also carried out on a kitchen scale by ]s and home cooks. In the kitchen, rendering is used to transform ] into ], ] into ], ] fat into ], and chicken fat into ].

==Rendering processes for inedible products==
Materials that for aesthetic or sanitary reasons are not suitable for human food are the feedstocks for inedible rendering processes. Much of the inedible raw material is rendered using the "dry" method. This may be a batch or a continuous process in which the material is heated in a steam jacketed vessel to drive off the moisture and simultaneously release the fat from the fat cells. The material is first ground, then heated to release the fat and drive off the moisture, percolated to drain off the free fat, and then more fat is pressed out of the solids, which at this stage are called "cracklings" or "dry-rendered tankage". The cracklings are further ground to make meat and ].
A variation on a dry process involves finely chopping the material, fluidizing it with hot fat, and then evaporating the mixture in one or more evaporator stages. Some inedible rendering is done using a wet process, which is generally a continuous process similar in some ways to that used for edible materials. The material is heated with added steam and then pressed to remove a water-fat mixture which is then separated into fat, water and fine solids by stages of centrifuging and/or evaporation. The solids from the press are dried and then ground into meat and bone meal. Most independent renderers process only inedible material.


==History== ==History==
The development of rendering was primarily responsible for the profitable utilization of meat industry by-products, which in turn allowed the development of a massive industrial-scale meat industry that made food more economical for the consumer. The development of rendering was primarily responsible for the profitable utilization of ] by-products, which in turn allowed the development of a massive industrial-scale meat industry that made food more economical for the consumer.
Rendering has been carried out for many centuries, primarily for ] and ] making. The earliest rendering was done in a ] over an open fire. This type of rendering is still done on farms to make lard (pork fat) for food purposes. With the development of steam boilers, it was possible to jacket the kettle to make a higher grade product and to reduce the danger of fire. A further development came in the nineteenth century with the use of the steam "digester" which was simply a tank used as a pressure cooker in which live steam was injected into the material being rendered. This process was a wet rendering process called "tanking" and was used for both edible and inedible products, although the better grades of edible products were made using the open kettle process. After the material was "tanked", the free fat was run off, the remaining water ("tank water") was run into a separate vat, and the solids were removed and dried by both pressing and steam-drying in a jacketed vessel. The tank water was either run into a ] or it was evaporated to make ] or protein concentrate to add to ]. The solids were used to make fertilizer. Rendering has been carried out for many centuries, primarily for ] and ] making. The earliest rendering was done in a ] over an open fire. This type of rendering is still done on farms to make lard (pork fat) for food purposes. With the development of steam boilers, it was possible to use steam-jacketed kettles to make a higher grade product, and reduce fire danger. From at least 1896, ''yellow grease'' has referred to lower-quality grades of tallow (cow or sheep fat) from animal rendering plants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brannt |first=William Theodore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h0FKAAAAMAAJ&q=%22yellow+grease%22 |title=A Practical Treatise on Animal and Vegetable Fats and Oils |publisher=H. C. Baird |year=1896 |pages=110 |language=en |quote=Yellow grease is made by packers. All the refuse materials of the packing houses go into the yellow grease tank, together with any hogs which may die on the packers' hands.}}</ref>


A further development came in the 19th century with the use of steam digesters: a tank used as a pressure cooker where steam was injected into the material being rendered. This process is a wet rendering process called "tanking" and was used for edible and inedible products, although better grades of edible products were made using the open kettle process. After the material is tanked, the free fat is run off, the remaining water ("tank water") run into a separate vat, and the solids removed and dried by pressing and steam-drying in a jacketed vessel. The tank water was either run into a ] or it was evaporated to make ] or protein concentrate to add to ]. The solids were used for fertilizer.
The pressure tank made possible the development of the ] meat industry in the ], with its huge concentration in one geographic area, because it allowed the economic disposal of by products which would otherwise overwhelm the environment in that area. At first, small companies that sprang up near the packers did the rendering. Later the packers themselves took up the industry once they saw the potential. ], ], and ] were among the early pioneers of the U.S. rendering industry with their personal backing and/or direct participation in the developing rendering industry.
Technological innovations came rapidly as the 20th century advanced. Some of these were in the uses for rendered products and others were in the rendering methods themselves. In the 1920s, a batch dry rendering process was invented, in which the material was cooked in horizontal steam-jacketed cylinders that were similar to the fertilizer dryers of the day. Advantages claimed for the dry process were economy in energy use, a better protein yield, faster processing, and fewer obnoxious odours attending the process. Gradually, over the years, the wet "tanking" process was replaced with the dry process, so that by the end of ], most rendering installations used the dry process. In the 1960s, continuous dry processes were introduced, one using a variation of the conventional dry cooker and the other making use of a mincing and evaporation process to dry the material and yield the fat. In the 1980s high energy costs popularized the various "wet" continuous processes. These processes were more energy efficient and allowed the re-use of process vapours to pre-heat or dry the materials during the process.


The pressure tank made possible the development of the ] meat industry in the United States—with its concentration in one geographic area—because it allowed the economic disposal of byproducts which would otherwise overwhelm the environment in that area. At first, small companies that sprang up near the packers did the rendering. Later the packers entered the rendering industry. ], ], and ] were among the early pioneers of the U.S. rendering industry, with their personal backing and/or direct participation in the rendering industry.
==Benefits of rendering ==
{{NPOV-section}}
After rendering, the materials are much more resistant to spoiling. The fat can be used in animal feed, in soap-making, in candles, as a raw material for ] production, and as a feed-stock for the ] industry. The bone and protein become dry particles known as ]. For many years meat and bone meal were fed to cattle. This practice is now prohibited in developed countries because it is believed to be the main route for the spread of ] (mad-cow disease). Meat and bone meal is still fed to non-] animals in the United States.


] wrote '']'' (1906), an exposé on the Chicago meat processing industry which created public outrage. His work helped the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1907 which paved the way for the creation of the ]. In 2012, the occupation of renderer appear in a list of "dirtiest jobs".<ref>{{cite web |author=Ellin, Abby |date=Sep 3, 2012 |title=The Seven Dirtiest Jobs |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/dirtiest-jobs/story?id=17130057#2 |access-date=29 January 2014 |website=ABC News}}</ref>
], derived from beef waste, is an important raw material in the ] rolling industry providing the required lubrication as the sheet steel is compressed through the rollers


Innovations came rapidly in the 20th century. Some of these were the uses for rendered products, and others were the rendering methods. In the 1920s, a batch dry rendering process was invented; the material was cooked in horizontal steam-jacketed cylinders (similar to the fertilizer dryers of the day). Advantages claimed for the dry process were economy of energy, better protein yield, faster processing, and fewer noxious odors. Over the years, the wet "tanking" process was replaced with the dry process. By the end of ], most rendering installations used the dry process. In the 1960s, continuous dry processes were introduced, one using a variation of the conventional dry cooker and the other making use of a mincing and evaporation process to dry the material and yield the fat. In the 1980s, high energy costs popularized the various "wet" continuous processes. These processes were more energy efficient and allowed the re-use of process vapours to pre-heat or dry the materials during the process.
In the absence of the rendering industry, the cost of waste disposal of waste animal material would be very high and would place a significant economic and environmental burden on areas involved in industrial scale slaughtering.


After ], synthetic detergents arrived, which displaced soaps in domestic and industrial washing. In the early 1950s, over half of the inedible fat market vanished. Diversion in these materials into animal feeds soon replaced the lost soap market and eventually became the single largest use for inedible fats.
==Economic impacts==
{{NPOV-section}}
Other major factors which impacted the industry in the 20th century were the popularization of chemical fertilizers, the development of synthetic detergents, the widespread adoption of "]" in the USA, and the change in consumer eating habits to reject animal fats. In the early 20th century the low cost of synthesis of artificial nitrogen fertilizers undermined the economic use of animal waste to enrich soils. This resulted in the loss of a substantial market for meat by-product solids. But this lost market was replaced by the realisation that these products made good feed for animals. After World War II synthetic detergents came on the scene which eventually displaced soaps for both domestic and industrial washing uses. Thus, in the early 1950s over 50% of the inedible fat market disappeared. Diversion in these materials into animal feeds soon replaced the lost soap market and eventually became the single largest use for inedible fats.


The widespread use of "boxed beef" in which the beef was cut up into consumer portions at the packing plant rather than at the retail level in local butcher shops and markets meant that the fat and meat scrap raw materials for renderers stayed at the packing plants and were rendered there by packer renderers, rather than by the "independent" renderering companies. The widespread use of "boxed beef", where the beef was cut into consumer portions at packing plants rather than local butcher shops and markets, meant that fat and meat scraps for renderers stayed at the packing plants and were rendered there by packer renderers, rather than by the independent rendering companies.


The rejection of animal fats by diet-conscious consumers led to a surplus of edible fats and their resultant diversion into soapmaking and ], displacing inedible fats and contributing to the market volatility of this commodity. The rejection of animal fats by diet-conscious consumers led to a surplus of edible fats, and the resultant diversion into soapmaking and ]s, displacing inedible fats and contributing to the market volatility of this commodity.


==Advantages and disadvantages==
The rendering industry is one of the oldest recycling industries, and made possible the development of a large food industry. The industry takes what would otherwise be waste materials and makes useful products such as fuels, soaps, rubber, plastics, etc. At the same time, rendering solves what would otherwise be a major disposal problem. As an example, the USA recycles more than 21 million metric tons annually of highly perishable and noxious organic matter. In 2004, the U.S. industry produced over 8 million metric tons of products, of which 1.6 million metric tons were exported.
The rendering industry is one of the oldest recycling industries, and made possible the development of a large food industry. The industry takes what would otherwise be waste materials and makes useful products such as fuels, soaps, rubber, plastics, etc. At the same time, rendering reduces what would otherwise be a major disposal problem. As an example, the United States annually recycles more than 21 million metric tons of highly perishable and noxious organic matter. In 2004, U.S. industry produced over 8 million metric tons of products, of which 1.6 million metric tons were exported.


Usually, raw materials are susceptible to spoilage. After rendering, they are much more resistant. This is due to the application of heat either through cooking in the wet rendering process or the extraction of fluid in the dry rendering process. The fat obtained can be used as low-cost raw material in making grease, animal feed, soap, candles, ], and as a feed-stock for the ] industry. ], derived from beef waste, is an important raw material in the ] rolling industry, providing lubrication when compressing steel sheets.
==Kitchen rendering==
Rendering of fats is also carried out on a kitchen scale by ] and home cooks. In the kitchen, rendering is used to transform ] into ], ] into ] and ] fat into ].


Meat and bone meal in animal feed was one route for the late-20th century spread of ] (mad-cow disease, BSE), which is also fatal to humans. Early in the 21st century, most countries tightened regulations to prevent this.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=BSE_FAQs.xml |title=FAQ on BSE |website=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=2017-01-28}}</ref>
==Reference==
* National Renderer's Association, Render Magazine, April 2005.
* National Renderer's Association, North American Rendering-The Source of Essential High Quality Products. Burnham, Frank
* Rendering, The Invisible Industry, Aero Publishers, 1978.Clemen, Rudolph
* By Products in the Packing Industry, University of Chicago Press, 1927
* Franco, Don and Swanson, Winfield, The Original Recyclers, APPI, FPRF and NRA, 1996


==Further reading== ==See also==
{{commons category|Rendering (animal products)}}
*Meeker DL (ed). (2006). ''''. Arlington, VA: National Renderers Association. p 95–110. ISBN 0-9654660-3-5 (Warning: large document).
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==External links== ==References==
===Industry organizations=== ===Inline citations===
{{Reflist}}
*
*
*
*
*


===Industry publication=== ===General references===
* Lyman, Howard, F. (1998). ''Mad Cowboy''. ], New York.
*
* ''Render Magazine'' (April 2005), National Renderer's Association.
* Meeker, David L. . National Renderer's Association.
* Burnham, Frank. . National Renderer's Association.
* Clemen, Rudolph (1978). ''Rendering, The Invisible Industry'', Aero Publishers.
* Young, H.H. (1927). ''By-Products of the Meat-Packing Industry'', ].
* Franco, Don and Swanson, Winfield (1996). ''The Original Recyclers'', APPI, FPRF and NRA.


{{Cooking techniques}}
===Kitchen rendering===
{{Authority control}}
* by Melissa Schneider, ''An Obsession With Food'' (blog), January 12, 2006.


] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]

]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 19:31, 6 October 2024

Conversion of waste animal tissue
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Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like lard or tallow. Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, farm, or kitchen scale. It can also be applied to non-animal products that are rendered down to pulp. The rendering process simultaneously dries the material and separates the fat from the bone and protein, yielding a fat commodity and a protein meal.

Input sources

In animal products, the majority of tissue processed comes from slaughterhouses, but also includes restaurant grease, butcher shop trimmings, and expired meat from grocery stores. This material can include the fatty tissue, bones, and offal, as well as entire carcasses of animals condemned at slaughterhouses and those that have died on farms, in transit, etc. The most common animal sources are beef, pork, mutton, and poultry.

Process variations

The rendering process varies in a number of ways:

  • Whether the end products are used as human or animal food depends on the quality of input material and the processing methods and equipment.
  • The material may be processed by wet or dry means.
    • In wet processing, either boiling water or steam is added to the material, separating fat into a floating phase.
    • In dry processing, fat is released by dehydrating the raw material.
  • The temperature range used may be high or low.
  • Rendering may be done either in discrete batches or in a continuous process.
  • The processing plant may be operated by an independent company that buys input material from suppliers, or by a packing plant that produces the material in-house.

Edible products

Edible rendering processes are basically meat processing operations and produce lard or edible tallow for use in food products. Edible rendering is generally carried out in a continuous process at low temperature (less than the boiling point of water). The process usually consists of finely chopping the edible fat materials (generally fat trimmings from meat cuts), heating them with or without added steam, and then carrying out two or more stages of centrifugal separation. The first stage separates the liquid water and fat mixture from the solids. The second stage further separates the fat from the water. The solids may be used in food products, pet foods, etc., depending on the original materials. The separated fat may be used in food products, or if in surplus, may be diverted to soap making operations. Most edible rendering is done by meat packing or processing companies.

Inedible products

Materials that for aesthetic or sanitary reasons are not suitable for human food are the feedstocks for inedible rendering processes. Much of the inedible raw material is rendered using the "dry" method. This may be a batch or a continuous process in which the material is heated in a steam-jacketed vessel to drive off the moisture and simultaneously release the fat from the fat cells. The material is first ground, then heated to release the fat and drive off the moisture, percolated to drain off the free fat, and then more fat is pressed out of the solids, which at this stage are called "cracklings" or "dry-rendered tankage". The cracklings are further ground to make meat and bone meal.

A variation on a dry process involves finely chopping the material, fluidizing it with hot fat, and then evaporating the mixture in one or more evaporator stages. Some inedible rendering is done using a wet process, which is generally a continuous process similar in some ways to that used for edible materials. The material is heated with added steam and then pressed to remove a water-fat mixture that is then separated into fat, water, and fine solids by stages of centrifuging and/or evaporation. The solids from the press are dried and then ground into meat and bone meal. Most independent renderers process only inedible material.

Kitchen scale

Rendering of fats is also carried out on a kitchen scale by chefs and home cooks. In the kitchen, rendering is used to transform butter into clarified butter, suet into tallow, pork fat into lard, and chicken fat into schmaltz.

History

The development of rendering was primarily responsible for the profitable utilization of meat industry by-products, which in turn allowed the development of a massive industrial-scale meat industry that made food more economical for the consumer. Rendering has been carried out for many centuries, primarily for soap and candle making. The earliest rendering was done in a kettle over an open fire. This type of rendering is still done on farms to make lard (pork fat) for food purposes. With the development of steam boilers, it was possible to use steam-jacketed kettles to make a higher grade product, and reduce fire danger. From at least 1896, yellow grease has referred to lower-quality grades of tallow (cow or sheep fat) from animal rendering plants.

A further development came in the 19th century with the use of steam digesters: a tank used as a pressure cooker where steam was injected into the material being rendered. This process is a wet rendering process called "tanking" and was used for edible and inedible products, although better grades of edible products were made using the open kettle process. After the material is tanked, the free fat is run off, the remaining water ("tank water") run into a separate vat, and the solids removed and dried by pressing and steam-drying in a jacketed vessel. The tank water was either run into a sewer or it was evaporated to make glue or protein concentrate to add to fertilizer. The solids were used for fertilizer.

The pressure tank made possible the development of the Chicago meat industry in the United States—with its concentration in one geographic area—because it allowed the economic disposal of byproducts which would otherwise overwhelm the environment in that area. At first, small companies that sprang up near the packers did the rendering. Later the packers entered the rendering industry. Gustavus Swift, Nelson Morris, and Lucius Darling were among the early pioneers of the U.S. rendering industry, with their personal backing and/or direct participation in the rendering industry.

Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle (1906), an exposé on the Chicago meat processing industry which created public outrage. His work helped the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1907 which paved the way for the creation of the FDA. In 2012, the occupation of renderer appear in a list of "dirtiest jobs".

Innovations came rapidly in the 20th century. Some of these were the uses for rendered products, and others were the rendering methods. In the 1920s, a batch dry rendering process was invented; the material was cooked in horizontal steam-jacketed cylinders (similar to the fertilizer dryers of the day). Advantages claimed for the dry process were economy of energy, better protein yield, faster processing, and fewer noxious odors. Over the years, the wet "tanking" process was replaced with the dry process. By the end of World War II, most rendering installations used the dry process. In the 1960s, continuous dry processes were introduced, one using a variation of the conventional dry cooker and the other making use of a mincing and evaporation process to dry the material and yield the fat. In the 1980s, high energy costs popularized the various "wet" continuous processes. These processes were more energy efficient and allowed the re-use of process vapours to pre-heat or dry the materials during the process.

After WWII, synthetic detergents arrived, which displaced soaps in domestic and industrial washing. In the early 1950s, over half of the inedible fat market vanished. Diversion in these materials into animal feeds soon replaced the lost soap market and eventually became the single largest use for inedible fats.

The widespread use of "boxed beef", where the beef was cut into consumer portions at packing plants rather than local butcher shops and markets, meant that fat and meat scraps for renderers stayed at the packing plants and were rendered there by packer renderers, rather than by the independent rendering companies.

The rejection of animal fats by diet-conscious consumers led to a surplus of edible fats, and the resultant diversion into soapmaking and oleochemicals, displacing inedible fats and contributing to the market volatility of this commodity.

Advantages and disadvantages

The rendering industry is one of the oldest recycling industries, and made possible the development of a large food industry. The industry takes what would otherwise be waste materials and makes useful products such as fuels, soaps, rubber, plastics, etc. At the same time, rendering reduces what would otherwise be a major disposal problem. As an example, the United States annually recycles more than 21 million metric tons of highly perishable and noxious organic matter. In 2004, U.S. industry produced over 8 million metric tons of products, of which 1.6 million metric tons were exported.

Usually, raw materials are susceptible to spoilage. After rendering, they are much more resistant. This is due to the application of heat either through cooking in the wet rendering process or the extraction of fluid in the dry rendering process. The fat obtained can be used as low-cost raw material in making grease, animal feed, soap, candles, biodiesel, and as a feed-stock for the chemical industry. Tallow, derived from beef waste, is an important raw material in the steel rolling industry, providing lubrication when compressing steel sheets.

Meat and bone meal in animal feed was one route for the late-20th century spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease, BSE), which is also fatal to humans. Early in the 21st century, most countries tightened regulations to prevent this.

See also

References

Inline citations

  1. Brannt, William Theodore (1896). A Practical Treatise on Animal and Vegetable Fats and Oils. H. C. Baird. p. 110. Yellow grease is made by packers. All the refuse materials of the packing houses go into the yellow grease tank, together with any hogs which may die on the packers' hands.
  2. Ellin, Abby (Sep 3, 2012). "The Seven Dirtiest Jobs". ABC News. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  3. "FAQ on BSE". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2017-01-28.

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