Profit in turning animal waste into proteins
08/11/2005
By Ahmed El Amin
More food makers could make an extra
euro or two by converting their waste animal products into proteins under a new
consulting programme launched by Alfa Laval.
The new programme could also help food makers meet the
requirements laid down by the EU's animal by products (ABP) regulation,
applicable since 1 May 2003.
Under the regulation food makers are required to adopt expensive disposal
techniques. The 2003 regulation prohibits the disposal of animal by-products to landfill.
Instead they must be treated at an approved rendering, incinerator, biogas or
composting plant. Under strict hygiene safeguards the law allows animal by-
products to be reprocessed into animal feed or for making ingredients for the
food or pharmaceutical industries. Most of the materials are converted into low value animal feed products says
Jette Kristensen, a manager at Alfa Laval's oil and protein technology unit. He says the
Sweden-based company's technology and network can help food companies turn these
wastes into higher-value components such as functional proteins, flavour
ingredients and essential amino acids. Alfa Laval offers a line of machines capable of converting meat and fish into
edible oils and proteins. Now the company is attempting to grow its market by
making it easier for food processors to access a network of specialists,
suppliers and buyers for their converted products. "The process of refining leftovers into high-value products – and not
least finding the right users of such products – is still rather unknown
territory for the fish and meat processing industries,” Kristensen stated.
“They need access to expertise when it comes to finding suitable end-users,
identifying their detailed raw material needs and designing the most efficient
processing plants.” He says the new approach would allow food companies to create new business
and increase profits by turning the relatively limited returns from the animal
feeds market into products with considerably improved margins. Functional proteins are used in the food industry for their capacity to bind
water and fat, to act as emulsifiers, to form foam and gel, to alter viscosity
level and to modify water solubility. Flavour ingredients are used in practically all pre-prepared foods such as
soups, sauces, stock, snacks and as a taste booster for convenience foods.
Essential amino acids are used within the pharmaceutical industry in general and
as food nutriceuticals. Alfa Laval can provide links to researchers and other food specialists who
have extensive know-how and practical experience of raw materials, products and
processes, he said. "Since they also enjoy good trust in the business, they are often a
natural bridge between the suppliers and the buyers of proteins and can offer
support in creating customized specifications for the end users for the
efficient supply of high quality raw material," Kristensen stated. The company offers equipment for preparation, heating, clarification, solids
separation, fractionation and evaporation of animal by-product materials. He noted that Norway-based Marine Harvest, the world's largest producer of
farmed salmon, has found a niche in producing new products from what other
comanies would consider just by-products and leftovers. "These include marine oils and ingredients for use in functional foods and
pharmacueticals. "Sufficient volume of raw material, efficient logistics and a versatile
production set-up that can switch rapidly between different raw materials are
all important success factors,” says Øistein Jakobsen, Marine Harvest's
project manager. “Our future production set-up will differ considerably from
the one we have today so that we will be able to move many products further up
the value chain.” Ellco Food in Sweden, another happy Alfa Laval customer, currently uses raw
materials from meat production for the development of ingredients for the food
industry. “It is highly important to select the right raw material source for
high-value protein chains,” says Thomas Ahlgren, Ellco's managing director.
“It has to be specific raw materials for specific applications. For example,
the structure of each type of pig bone differs a lot, and the chains of proteins
that we can extract from these bones also have different
characteristics.” The EU-wide animal by-products directive went into force for all other EU
members at the start of this year. The UK received a concession allowing its
industry to continue the practice until 1 January 2006. The EU's ABP regulation was adopted in response to various food-borne crises,
including BSE and foot-and-mouth diseases. The regulation not only prohibited
the feeding of animal parts to livestock but also laid down the health
rules for the handling, processing, use and disposal of ABPs. ABP's are a regular product of the livestock and food industries and include
animals which die on farm, surplus or waste material from slaughterhouses, and a
range of surplus or rejected foodstuffs and leftovers, whether cooked or
uncooked. The EU's food sector produces about 16 million
tonnes of materials of animal origin not intended for human consumption, the
bulk of which derive from healthy animals. Some of these materials are then transformed in a variety of products used in
animal feed, cosmetics, medicinal products, medical devices such as laboratory
reagents, fertilisers, soil improver, oleo-chemical products, photographic paper
coating. Source: www.foodnavigator-usa.com