Animal edible tallow

Animal edible tallow is normally obtained from beef but also from sheep and goats, processed from suet. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation. It is used in animal feed, to make soap, for cooking, as bird feed, and was used for making candles. It can be used as a raw material for the production of biodiesel and other oleochemicals. ... 

Along with the reduced consunq>tion of meat products, the production of rendered animal fats has also declined. Beef tallow consumption has increased greatly since 1950 due to its distinctive flavor and stability as a frying medium. In 1985, 460,000 metric tons of beef tallow were used in the U.S. for baking and frying, but this figure was reduced to 289,000 metric tons in 1990 and is probably less this year. The decreased production of beef tallow has made it unprofitable for renderers to continue Ae processing procedures required to produce edible tallow (i). 

Standards for named animal fats and named vegetable oils These standards were adopted formally by the CAC in 1999 (Joint FAO/WHO, 1999e). The Standard for Named Animal Fats combines and updates provisions for lard, rendered pork fat, premier jus and edible tallow. The Named Vegetable Oils Standard covers 15 different oils of particular importance in international trade and also the palm oil fractions, palm olein and palm stearin (see Table 8.5). 

Rendering produced an estimated 4.18 million metric tons of animal fats was produced in the United States in 2000 by rendering.87 Of this amount, approximately 18 percent and 6 percent were edible tallow and lard, respectively, and 41 percent and 35 percent were inedible tallow and grease. Approximately 15 percent and 34 percent of the edible tallow and lard, respectively, and 37 percent of the inedible tallow and grease were exported. Of the inedible tallow and grease used in the United States, an estimated 75 percent was used as animal feed, 16 percent was converted to fatty acids by the oleochemicals industry, 4 percent was used in soaps, and 3 percent in lubricants. Inedible animal fats are the lowest cost domestic fat sources. Their market price per pound sometimes is less than fuel oil, and rendering plants have chosen to bum them as fuels. In 2001, animal fats were included with vegetable oils for federally supported trials of biodiesel fuel. 

World vegetable oil consumption in 2003 was 87.2 million tons. U.S. consumption was 9.91 million tons. In the U.S. market, animal fats (tallow and lard) have a relatively small share (2 percent) compared to vegetable oils. The consumption of four oils—soybean (80 percent), corn (4 percent), canola (4 percent), and cottonseed (3 percent) has grown rapidly over the past 30 years compared to the traditional oils and animal fats. Figure 4.3 shows U.S. consumption of edible fats and oils in 2003 [3]. 

In the case of tallow, two broad categories are defined edible and inedible. Edible tallow originates from cattle or sheep that are judged by a competent regulatory authority to be healthy, sound, and fit for consumption at the time of slaughter. Tallow obtained from the inedible offal resulting from slaughter, from animals unfit for consumption, or from outdated meats returned from commercial outlets is classified as inedible. 

Use of Domestically Produced Tallows. Currently, approximately 35% of domestically produced inedible tallow is exported, leaving about 2.7 million MT available for domestic use (1). Rouse (29) reported that domestic use of inedible tallow increased by 63%, from 0.81 million MT in 1950 to 1.3 milhon MT in 1991. In 1950, about 72% of the available domestic inedible tallow (0.58 million MT) was used in making soap and hardly any in animal feeds. With the development of synthetic detergents, the use of edible tallows in soap making dropped to 0.15 million MT or 12% of the total in 1991, and animal feeds rose to using about 62% of the domestic supply. 

Animal fats [- tallow (beef and mutton) and - lard] are used for edible purposes and are a cheap source of C]6 and C]g saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. 

Rendered beef, pork, poultry, and other animal fats are not well reported internationally, and global statistics are unreliable. Total production of fats in the United States by the rendering industry for 2000 is estimated at 4.18 million metric tons.68 Outputs of all rendering facilities captive to integrated broiler operations might not be included. Of the amount reported, 76 percent is inedible tallows and greases, 18 percent is edible beef or mutton tallows, and 6 percent is edible pork lard. 

Methods are available to remove cholesterol from animal fats (23), and a line of low cholesterol edible lipids, termed Appetize, was marketed in the United States in the 1990s (24). The product consisted of 70-90% tallow whose cholesterol had been reduced by steam distillation to only 8 mg/100 g. Despite the fine rationale underlying its production, however, high production costs resulted in the withdrawal of the Appetize line from the market. Supercritical fluid extraction can also be used to reduce the cholesterol content of animal fats (25), although to this author s knowledge, this approach has not been commercially implemented. 

Surprisingly, despite increased public awareness of, and stated dedication to, the value of low fat diets, annual per capita edible lipid consumption in the United States has grown in recent years. Between 1991 and 2000, for example, this value rose from 65.5 to 74.6 pounds per person annually. In addition, the sum of lard and tallow consumption over this period rose from 3.2 to 5.9 pounds per person. These trends are attributable to an increase in the consumption in the home of commercially prepared foods, which have a higher fat content and animal fat component, and to an increase in dining in restaurants. The greater use of animal fats in these... 

Edible animal fat in the United States can be rendered only in food grade plants under inspection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (1). The majority of tallows and greases used domestically in animal feeds and pet foods are feed grade. The National Renderer s Association (NRA) describes rendering as a process that... 

Conversion of edible oils (from coconuts, cotton seed, fish, peanuts, soybeans, etc.) to fats, e.g., margarine Conversion of tallow and grease to animal feed (and soap)... 

Animal fats are rendered tissne fats that can be obtained from a variety of animals. Examples of edible animal fats are butter, lard (pig fat), tallow, ghee, and fish oil. They are obtained from fats in the milk, meat, and under the skin of the animal. Typical fatty acid composition of some animal fats and oils are summarized in Table 5.5. 

Of increasing importance in modern society are polymeric materials that either originate from plants or animals, are naturally degradable, or both. One of the major approaches utilizes triglyceride oils with functionality other than double bonds. For example, most of the edible oils such as com oil are triglycerides containing one or more double bonds in the side chains. Usually, the double bonds are stmcturally cis. An exception is tallow, which is a saturated oil. 

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