Orange County Register

Read Part 1 first

Continuing on the question of whether it’s safe to eat foods containing rendered products (we visited the ”uh-oh” scenarios in Part 1, complete with scientists worried about increased risks for mad cow disease and bacterial infections) -

The Watchdog eyes her chicken sandwich suspiciously and turns to the “get over it” scenarios, such as this research paper by the Center for Biosecurity, Food Safety and Public Health, and this by Clemson University. These papers maintain that rendered products have been around for decades, and are safe.

(Both are at the Renderers Association website, and there’s a lot more from the renderers’ perspective here.)

GET OVER IT!

Some pertinent bits from Clemson University:

• “The recycling of rendered animal products back into the feed of ruminant livestock species has had a positive impact both on the efficiency of livestock production and the availability of meat and milk for consumers at an affordable price. Rendered animal products are distinguished by a high protein content containing amino acids that resist microbial degradation … and for extracted animal fats that supply high energy for meat and milk production….
• “Rendered animal products have contributed immensely to meeting the protein needs of ruminant livestock species for many decades without health concerns to the animal or to human consumers. The heat treatment applied to rendered animal products to remove moisture was sufficient to kill bacterial and viral infectious agents.”

And this from the Center for Biosecurity, stressing the industry’s need to stay on the cutting edge of safety:

• “Animal proteins serve as concentrated sources of protein and amino acids and have been a standard in feed rations for over 100 years in agriculturally advanced societies of the world. Fats and oils have been historically potent feed energy sources and have also been used for years to increase the caloric density of rations. These products have been subjected to safety assessments and evaluations for decades, including regulatory scrutiny through inspection audits, but it remains imperative for the industry to continue to be proactive and transparent in responding to the current challenges to the use of its products.
• “The industry concedes that feed ingredient safety is an important and attainable factor in total food safety objectives, thus, the rationale for proactive testing for pathogens and toxins that could influence product integrity. It is also the reason for educational offerings to train the workforce to achieve safety…. This assures that safe feed will produce healthy livestock that contributes to safe food, and healthy people.”

NO MORE BRAINS

As it turns out - despite the industry’s lobbying to the contrary - a new FDA rule will go into effect next year banning cow brains and spinal cords (from animals more than 30 months old) from use in animal feed. Brains and spinal cords will have to be removed before rendering - which should cut down on mad cow concerns, but cost renderers, and ultimately, everyone who uses their products.

A PROFITABLE INDUSTRY

It appears, however, that the industry can afford it.

My colleague Jonathan Lansner directed me to the financials of Darling International Inc., “the largest publicly traded food processing by-products recycling company in the United States,” according to its web site.

Here we find that, for the first quarter of 2008, Darling reported net sales of $202 million, up 46 percent ($63.4 million) from the first quarter of 2007.

Why? ”Higher finished product prices and increased raw material volume,” Darling’s press release said. 

In a conference call, company officials went on to provide a more tummy-churning explanation: “Raw material volumes improved modestly throughout the year and were primarily results from an improvement in hog and cattle slaughter, with incremental tonnage coming from integrated packers, an increase in dead stock due to extreme weather conditions in the Mid-West, a foreseen virus that attacks stocks and provides dead stock to our Iowa plants and strong poultry tonnage on the West Coast.”

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT?

I email my old college buddy, Jill Schwartz, who works at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. She specializes in fish (they call it “aquaculture”). This seems important, because protein containing OC’s companion animals is exported to “large aquacultural operations in the Pacific Rim, where sea creatures, including shellfish, are cultivated” (OC’s companion animals do not wind up in lipsticks, candies, etc., but other companion animals from other parts of the country may well make appearances). Says she:

“As luck would have it, I happen to sit next to the person on our staff who is an expert in fish feed. She says that there are no human health problems associated with eating farmed fish that have been raised on feed that has protein meal from dead animals. In fact, some scientists would say that it’s a good move, from a social standpoint, to get protein from dead animals. That means more of the other protein sources are available for starving children in Africa. Also, it’s recycling at its finest. Why not recycle waste if there’s a market for it?

“…What one really wants to avoid is fish feed that includes fish remnants. If that happened, you would have a ‘mad fish’ case. You never want to feed cow parts to cows, dog parts to dogs, Teri parts to Teri.”

To which The Watchdog responds: Does this mean that I have to stop chewing my nails?

NO DIETARY REBIRTH HERE

We confess to spitting out a gummy worm recently. But we don’t think our eating habits are going to change much, long-term. We like an occasional steak, bought in bulk, from Costco. “This industry,” said Meeker, of the National Renderers Association,” has been around for a hundred years.”

I can only hope that the same will be said for the rest of us.

If you’re more motivated (and/or have more cash on hand) than The Watchdog, here are tips from the Union of Concerned Scientists on how to avoid eating rendered products:

• Go vegetarian and eat plant-based foods.
• If you like meat, choose grass-fed and grass-finished beef and dairy products and pasture-raised pork, poultry, and egg products.
• Select certified organic meats, eggs, and dairy and those clearly labeled as using only vegetarian animal feed.
• Purchase meats, eggs, and dairy products from local farmers on the farm or at farmers markets.

Bon appetite.

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