Volume 13: Industry Processes and Controls
6. Rendering
Annex C to Chapter 6: Comparison of UK rendering process with the process in other countries
(i) United States
(ii) Rest of Europe

6.96 This annex sets out the information available to the Inquiry on the rendering processes in other countries and compares them with those in the UK.

(i) United States

6.97 As in the UK, the US used a combination of batch and continuous processes. ¹ However, as a net exporter of tallow and MBM, the US generally led the way in research and development, continually searching for new markets and more efficient production methods. Therefore, the American industry tended to be 10 to 15 years ahead of the UK. ² The first 'reduced temperature' continuous systems (Carver-Greenfield) came into use in the mid-1960s. Other, more advanced continuous systems were also first used in the US, in the early 1980s, before their introduction into Europe. The maximum temperatures used in these processes varied between 124°C and 154°C. As with the continuous systems considered in Annex B to this chapter, the description 'reduced temperature' referred to the temperature at which the tallow was extracted, not the temperature to which the greaves were exposed. ³

6.98 Other than advances in technology, which were later mirrored in the UK, the only changes in the American industry in the years leading up to 1986 were:

• attempts to reduce cooking temperatures in order to preserve the nutritional quality of the finished product;
• a reduction in the proportion of sheep waste used; and
• an increase in the proportion of poultry waste used. ⁴

6.99 By 1970, most of the solvent extraction plants in the US had 'blown up, burned down, or closed for safety'. ⁵

(ii) Rest of Europe

6.100 Although there have been some common trends, there are aspects of the rendering industry which have developed differently in parts of Europe. This seems to be partly because of the perceived purpose of the industry. In some countries it was seen primarily as a service: the renderers' main function was to destroy pathogenic waste, and commercial considerations were secondary. In countries such as Germany, Holland and France, a subsidy could be available if companies were not profitable. ⁶ In other countries, including the UK, rendering was first and foremost a commercial operation. There was also a difference in the use of the word 'rendering' in certain continental countries. Mr Charles Reynolds of PDM said:

There is no such thing in Europe as edible rendering. In Europe the production of edible products is known as -fat melting . . . They do not consider that to be 'rendering'. When the Germans and the Dutch talk about 'rendering', they are talking about the disposal of diseased animals, destruction. ⁷

6.101 While in some countries the primary objective of rendering may be to destroy dangerous pathogens, another source suggests that, across Europe, the primary objective of 'rendering' is not always to destroy the rendered material, but to 'sterilise' it (in what sense it is not clear), leaving it capable of use for non-food purposes. ⁸ It appears that, with the possible exception of rendering of material infected with heat-resistant organisms such as anthrax (see below), such a process is similar to the rendering of inedible products in the UK. The Inquiry is not aware of how many 'fat melting' plants there are in Europe, nor the specifications for their operation.

6.102 This difference in perception varies from country to country and derives from the way in which certain animal diseases have been dealt with. In Germany, Belgium and Holland, legislation existed since the 1940s and 1950s that required renderers to be able to eliminate spore-forming micro-organisms such as anthrax and foot and mouth disease. ⁹ (These were more heat-resistant organisms than salmonella, the elimination of which was the bacteriological standard set for rendering in the UK by the Protein Processing Order). In these three countries, renderers were expected to process carcasses infected with those diseases and make the resultant meal suitable for use in animal feed. In Germany, such carcasses were dealt with at special 'destructor' plants, where they were treated under pressure at 130°C for 20 minutes. ¹⁰

6.103 However, in other European countries, including the UK, notifiable diseases such as anthrax were dealt with on the farm, by burial or incineration, and renderers were not required to be able to handle them. ¹¹ Many of these countries later adopted legislation which made mandatory rendering systems that were sufficiently robust to destroy dangerous pathogens, as was required by (European) Council Directive 90/667/EEC. In the UK this Directive was implemented by the Animal By-Products Order of 1992. ¹²

6.104 In addition, rendering in the UK was generally carried out at normal atmospheric pressure. In some countries in Northern Europe, legislation required high-pressure cooking (eg, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland). In the rest of Europe its use varied between plants. Mr Brian Rogers told the Inquiry that recent changes to EC Regulations led to the installation of 200 such high-pressure systems throughout the EU, which suggests that their use had by no means been universal. ¹³

6.105 Generally speaking, the rendering industry developed differently throughout Europe, because of 'different developments of the whole agricultural business, different geographics, different social structure, and different culture in many other respects'. ¹⁴ However, in most parts of Europe there was a trend towards fewer but larger rendering units, as a result of the need for high investment in the new technologies necessary to meet environmental requirements. For example in 1991:

• In Holland, one company was processing all raw material, mostly in two rendering plants.
• In Belgium, one plant processed 95 per cent of the raw material.
• In Denmark, there were four renderers, but one processed more than 80 per cent of the raw material, in four plants. ¹⁵

6.106 On the other hand, in Germany, where federal authorities were directly or indirectly responsible for disposal of animal waste, there were still about 42 public and private plants in operation. ¹⁶ In Italy in 1995, there were 74 renderers (including those attached to slaughterhouses). ¹⁷

6.107 Meanwhile, most European renderers moved from using batch processes, to continuous processing. These were introduced to meet pressure not only for hygienic products but also for lower energy consumption, lower labour costs and greater control of the environmental impact of rendering. ¹⁸

6.108 Solvent extraction fell out of favour throughout Europe during the 1970s, at the same time as renderers adopted continuous systems. In some hotter countries, however, it continued to be used, because of the tendency of MBM with a high fat content to go rancid in hot weather.