Doubling of returns?

Press, 18 July 1980, Page 13

Doubling of returns?

■A doubling of returns from by-products of the meat industry., is not bevond the realms of possibility,. Mr L. F. Frazerhufst, head of the engineering division of the Meat Industry Research Institute at Hamilton, said this week. He was speaking- at a seminar for Mr T. Fernando, who is head’ of the- by-product development section of the institute. At. present returns from by-products . amount to about?.’ SI24M compared with about SI2OOM from edible' products, although by-products account for not far short of a half of works output — about 442 per cent. ...7 Tallow is-' the biggest single item 'worth about SSOM and Mr Frazerhurst suggested that this could be increased,, to A $lOOM. About S2OM7 could be added to meal now returning about £2SM, and converting the blood fraction to edible: grade could lift the income from blood from S4M to more than SIOM. Mr Frazerhurst described as now definite commercial possibilities in various parts of the world; the use of fatty acids in the production of soaps and detergents, -. rubber \ compounding, cosmetics, textiles and lubricants. ;

It was possible, he said, to take a tonne -of edible beef trimmings arid . putting it through low temperature rendering to produce a third ofc, a tonne of tallow and over half $1 tonne of edible meal that could be used in hamburger, patties, raising the . return from $275 to $705. •The meal produced contained less fat. The technology to do this was straightforward, he said. Low temperature rendering would soon go into a freezing works for industrial trials. The capital cost was less and the plant also occupied less space. If this sort of system was introduced it might do away with the need for a boiler house, involving expensive plant The present Justification for steam raising plant was for rendering. : 'And if the . industry• could get -into blood plasma production for use . in edible foods, the return from bloods could rise from $6OO per tonne from inedible blood to $3OOO per tonne. ' Reporting that a production control system had been installed in the rendering plant at Aotea Meats to measure all inputs and all outputs, as a demonstration for the industry,

Mr Frazerhurst said, “quite literally the products washed, . down the drain run into many thousands of dollars.” A gut cutter developed by the institute has greatly reduced fat loss-during viscera' washing.