Meat and bone meal (MBM) is a product of the rendering industry. It is typically about 48–52%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, 33–35%

ash Ash is the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the ...

, 8–12%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

, and 4–7%

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. It is primarily used in the formulation of

animal feed Animal feed is food given to domestic animals, especially livestock, in the course of animal husbandry. There are two basic types: fodder and forage. Used alone, the word ''feed'' more often refers to fodder. Animal feed is an important input ...

to improve the

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

profile of the feed. Feeding of MBM to cattle is thought to have been responsible for the spread of BSE (mad cow disease); therefore, in most parts of the world, MBM is no longer allowed in feed for

ruminant Ruminants are herbivorous grazing or browsing artiodactyls belonging to the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microb ...

animals. However, it is still used to feed

monogastric A monogastric organism defines one of the many types of digestive tracts found among different species of animals. The defining feature of a monogastric is that it has a simple single-chambered stomach (one stomach). A monogastric can be classifie ...

animals. MBM is widely used in the United States as a low-cost animal protein in

dog food Dog food is specifically formulated food intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carn ...

and

cat food Cat food is food specifically formulated and designed for consumption by cats. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, cats in London were often fed horse meat sold by traders known as Cats’ Meat Men or Women, who traveled designated routes ...

. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, some MBM is used as ingredients in pet food, but the majority is now used as a fossil-fuel replacement for energy generation, as a fuel in

cement kiln Cement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of Portland cement, portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silicon dioxide, silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silic ...

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

ing or

incineration Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

History

In the UK, after the 1987 discovery that BSE could cause vCJD, the original feed ban was introduced in 1988 to prevent

protein being fed to ruminants. In addition, it has been illegal to feed ruminants with all forms of

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

ian protein (with specific exceptions) since November 1994 and to feed any farmed livestock, including fish and horses, with mammalian meat and bone meal (mammalian MBM) since 4 April 1996. Regulation (EC) No.999/2001 introduced EU-wide regulations, which relaxed UK controls. In 2000, UK supermarket chain

Co-op Food Co-op is a UK supermarket chain and the brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group, one of the world's largest consumer co-operatives. As the UK's fifth largest food retailer, Co-op operates nearly 2,400 food stores. It ...

was still calling for "a legally-binding Europe-wide ban on the feeding of animal waste to farm animals". They opined that the practice was tantamount to

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...

. According to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

at the time there was no ban on the use in

livestock feed Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

of animal blood,

tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...

, poultry offal and

feather meal Feather meal or Feather powder, is a byproduct of processing poultry; it is made from poultry feathers by partially grinding them under elevated heat and pressure, and then grinding and drying. Although total nitrogen levels are fairly high (up to ...

European categories

In Europe (before the 2002 EU Regulation), animal by-products were classified into two categories: "high risk" or "low risk" products. Since 2002, " processed animal protein" (PAP) and other

animal by-products An animal product is any material derived from the body of a non-human animal or their excretions. Examples are meat, fat, blood, milk, Eggs as food, eggs, honey, and lesser known products, such as isinglass, rennet, and Carminic acid, cochinea ...

, authorized or not for various uses, are categorized into three categories (by the European Regulation 2002) according to their supposed or demonstrated level of

health risk A health risk assessment (also referred to as a health risk appraisal and health & well-being assessment) is a questionnaire about a person's medical history, demographic characteristics and lifestyle. It is one of the most widely used screening ...

. #Category 1 material – those that pose a prion infection risk to humans, including "SRM" ("

specified risk material Specified risk material (SRM) is any of various tissues of ruminant animals that cannot be inspected and passed for human food because scientists have determined that bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( BSE)-causing prions concentrate there, repres ...

") and animals suspected or declared to be infected with

prions A prion () is a misfolded protein that induces misfolding in normal variants of the same protein, leading to cellular death. Prions are responsible for prion diseases, known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSEs), which are fat ...

. This category also contains products contaminated by certain banned substances (

hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physio ...

s) or dangerous for the environment (

dioxins and dioxin-like compounds Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are a group of chemical compounds that are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environmental pollutant, environment. They are mostly by-products of burning or various industrial processes or, in the ...

). #Category 2 materials – associated with health risks other than prions or banned chemicals. Also includes foodstuffs seized for sanitary reasons and corpses of animals who died by other means than by being slaughtered, as well as products contaminated with residues of veterinary drugs. #Category 3 material – from animals considered healthy and without specific risks, that is to say the carcasses have been declared fit for human consumption after health inspection. Only products in this category are allowed for the production of flours for animal feed (including pets).

Detection

A minimum of 500g is required to test samples of solid or liquid material at the Irish Equine Centre, an independent not-for-profit organisation. Tests are by

light microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view subjects too small to be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical, el ...

and using

real-time PCR A real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR, or qPCR when used quantitatively) is a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule duri ...

for ruminant DNA. The presence of MBM and fish products in feed can be tested by light microscopy in two days. The presence of ruminant DNA in feed by real-time PCR can be detected by this lab in 48 to 72 hours.

Uses

Besides use as animal feed, MBM also finds use in various areas of industry. * Fuel – MBM is considered a renewable and even

carbon-neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...

source of fuel in power generation and

s. Combustion destroys pathogens and pollutants. MBM has around two thirds the heat value of coal; the UK in particular widely uses meat and bone meal for the generation of renewable electricity. This was particularly prominent after many cattle were slaughtered during the BSE crisis. * Fertilizer – MBM is used as a fertilizer. It is similar to

bone meal Bone meal (or bonemeal) is a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products. It is used as a dietary supplement to supply calcium and phosphorus to monogastric livestock in the form of hydroxyapatite. As a slo ...

in that it supplies calcium and phosphorus, but the meat component also provides a significant amount of nitrogen. For growing human food, the material must meet sanitary requirements to avoid spreading diseases or contaminants.

Similar products

* Meat meal – obtained by cooking, defatting, sterilizing, grinding, and sifting by-products of terrestrial animals. This denomination includes both meat and bone meal (MBM) and meat meal in the strict sense, less rich in minerals than MBM; it is often referred to as "processed animal protein".SIFCO (Syndicat des Industries Françaises des Coproduits animaux; Syndicat interprofessionnel regroupant les transformateurs de coproduits animaux en protéines et graisses animales), ''Lexique rchive' *

Bone meal Bone meal (or bonemeal) is a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products. It is used as a dietary supplement to supply calcium and phosphorus to monogastric livestock in the form of hydroxyapatite. As a slo ...

– produced from bones (of terrestrial animals) of second quality. The other bones can be used beforehand for the manufacture of

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...

and/or treated to produce

dicalcium phosphate Dicalcium phosphate is the calcium phosphate with the formula CaHPO4 and its dihydrate. The "di" prefix in the common name arises because the formation of the HPO42– anion involves the removal of two protons from phosphoric acid, H3PO4. It is al ...

ossein Ossein is the organic extracellular matrix of bone, which is made of 95% collagen. This substance is used in industry for the production of gelatin and bone glue. In the early 20th century, bones were found to consist of three types of proteins: ...

powder; the meal is produced by heating, defatting, drying, grinding and sieving the bones of terrestrial animals. * Meal from

skin appendage Skin appendages (or adnexa of skin) are anatomical skin-associated structures that serve a particular function including sensation, contractility, lubrication and heat loss in animals. In humans, some of the more common skin appendages are hairs ( ...

s –

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

hooves The hoof (: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits; the ruminants with ...

and nails (around 55,700 tons per year in FranceSénat, Projet de loi relatif à la collecte et à l'élimination des cadavres d'animaux et des déchets d'abattoirs et modifiant le code rural rchive Travaux parlementaires > Rapports > Rapports législatifs, consulté 2013-09-09) are used for example in agricultural or garden fertilizers for their sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorus contents, or used in the composition of meat meal. *

Blood meal Blood meal is a dry, inert powder made from blood, used as a high-nitrogen organic fertilizer and a high protein animal feed. By weight, it is generally 12% nitrogen with trace amounts (≤1%) of phosphorus and potassium. It is one of the hig ...

– fresh and whole blood collected from slaughterhouses, coagulated and steam dried now often referred to as "animal protein transformed from blood". * Feather meal – fresh feathers from slaughterhouses, treated by thermal

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

(chemical decomposition in the presence of pressurized water), dried and crushed. * Fishmeal

References

* * * * *

External links

PDM Group
Information on the use of meat and bone meal for renewable power generation. {{Authority control Meat industry Fodder Proteins as nutrients Soil improvers