Co-products
| PROGRAM OBJECTIVE | KPIs | OUTCOMES | BENEFITS | FUTURE |
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| Increase the value of a carcase by increasing the range and profitability of red meat co-products |
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Harvesting bioactives
A major focus of our activities this year has been equipping the industry with understanding and expertise to capture opportunities for increasing carcase value by harvesting bioactives. A series of workshops for meat processors and research providers has resulted in three commercial R&D projects: Chondroitin sulphate manufacture for joint ailments; blood fractionation for pharmaceutical applications; and placental bioactives.
Using animal organs (post-slaughter) as biochemical factories is the focus of a project aiming to demonstrate proof of principle for using animal tissue to generate higher value products.
Another project initiated this year is calculating the potential for on-farm interventions for increasing the value of bioactives, with a focus on blood products for the pharmaceutical industry. Blood serum exported from Australia is currently valued at $100m a year in a world market valued at $500m a year. Given Australia’s ‘clean and green’ industry and state-of-the-art traceability, there is potential to double our share of this market.
Co-products
A significant amount of time and effort has gone into the development of biodiesel from tallow in previous years, however cold weather was inhibiting its uptake. This year, Flinders University developed an additive to overcome cold weather issues and at the same time we are facilitating the commercialisation of the technology. All major biodiesel manufacturers and a multinational chemical additive company have expressed interest.
The salmonella problem solving guide, endorsed by the Australian Renderers Association and launched at their annual general meeting, was developed to reduce incidence of salmonella in rendered products. The guide was successfully trialled by three companies allowing them to continue selling their product into the Australian feed market.
Poor offal recovery is hampering efforts to fully utilise the carcase and research to date suggests it is possible to increase average yields by 5% by implementing best practice. To close this gap we are developing best practice procedures and information systems that assist in the process and also provide feedback to producers.
Pet products
Pet populations in affluent countries are ageing and the pet food industry is investing in the development of nutraceuticals that offer therapeutic treatment for domestic animals. This is a relatively untapped market for the red meat and livestock industry, and we therefore carried out a market study to identify the top five pet nutraceuticals and initiated a pet treat product development project. Pet treats are a convenient means of delivering nutraceuticals to the animals and represent a rapid route to market.
A pilot scale trial was conducted using specially designed technology to de-hair lambs ears and process them for pet treats. The trial was successful and a processor is investing in further development work.