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In some countries,
road kill which is too large to be buried along
the roadside is sent for rendering. This is an
efficient method of disposal. Condemned material
from slaughterhouses goes for rendering: animals
that died in transit, diseased animals or animal
parts, blood, hair, feet, head and any part of the
animal unsuitable for human consumption. Many of
the "unspeakable parts" such as udders,
lips, eyes etc end up in human processed meat
products such as meat pies or sausages. Before the
condemned material leaves the slaughterhouse it is
"denatured" (doused with chemicals) to
prevent it from getting back into the human food
chain when transported to the rendering
facilities. In Canada, the denaturing chemical is
Birkolene B and its composition remains secret. In
the U.S. carbolic acid (potentially corrosive
disinfectant, toxic), creosote (used for
wood-preservation or as a disinfectant, toxic),
fuel oil, kerosene and citronella (an insect
repellent made from lemon grass) may be used. In
other countries, the meat is simply dyed e.g. blue
or green using a non-toxic dye.
James Morris, a
professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at
Davis, California, stated that any products not
fit for human consumption were very well
sterilized so that nothing can be transmitted to
the animal. Many believe this to be a naïve
statement especially after the British BSE
situation. In the UK, cattle feed was believed to
be well sterilized until BSE emerged; the causal
agent was not destroyed at the sterilizing
temperature.
About 50% of a
food-producing animal is not used in human food.
This includes bones, blood, intestines, many
internal organs, ligaments, hooves and rind. These
"by-products" of the human food industry
are used in animal feeds and fertilizer. The
by-products are not necessarily unhealthy or
inedible, parts of the animal that we would rather
not think about end up in processed meat or
sausages. The pet food market benefits pet owners
(convenience, ready-made balanced diet) and also
benefits human food industries and animal farmers
by providing a market for by-products. It is not a
new trade. In Britain half a century ago, ill or
old livestock ended up at the knackers (small
scale slaughterhouse) and often ended up being fed
to hounds or farm dogs. Many towns had a
"cat's meat man" who sold skewers of
waste meat to cat owners for a couple of pennies.
Pet Food
Regulatory Bodies
The UK Pet Food
Manufacturers Association (PFMA) states that it
uses those parts of the carcass which are either
surplus to human requirements or which are not
normally consumed by people in the UK. Companies
which are members of the PFMA operate their own
quality assurance policies including strict
specifications for material supplies, routine
testing of all incoming materials and the use of
vendor assurance schemes (and audits) to monitor
their suppliers. The British pet food industry
also uses sources of meat and meal from the UK,
USA Canada, Australasia and various European
countries. All materials imported must comply with
the strict British legislation.
Britain pet food
manufacturers only use materials from animals
which are generally accepted in the human food
chain. They do not use equine (a peculiarly
British taboo), whales or other sea mammals,
kangaroos or a number of other species not eaten
by humans. It does use beef, lamb, poultry, pork,
fish, shellfish, rabbit and game. The PFMA's
policies are often ahead of UK legislation, for
example when BSE appeared, the PFMA banned
"high risk" cattle parts from pet food
long before those parts were banned from human
food.
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