Volume 16: Reference Material
4. Uses made of the cattle carcass

4.1 The public associates cattle primarily with the production of milk and meat for human consumption, but in truth the number of products which derive from the cow, living or dead, is exceedingly large. Indeed, it has been said, and not altogether facetiously, that the only industry in which some part of the cow is not used is concrete production. What follows is a table which gives some indication of the extent of the uses to which cattle were put after slaughter in the late 1980s, ie, before measures to counter BSE and the risk of infection were introduced. It cannot be definitive, since no audit of the use of cattle tissues was done at that time. It is based on information gathered from time to time by MAFF and DH, and illustrates the multifarious destinations of various parts of slaughtered cattle, and the efficient use made of their carcasses.

4.2 The table does not list products derived from the live cow, such as milk, semen and embryos, but concentrates on those items which were derived after slaughter. ¹ Nor does it necessarily list as human food all the parts of cattle carcasses that were once eaten but have fallen out of fashion, or which are still eaten in other parts of Europe - to which British cattle and meat will have been exported. For example, among its recipes Larousse Gastronomique includes some that use the following organs and other parts of the calf: sweetbreads, liver, lungs, mesentery, ² spinal marrow, brains, ears, feet and head.

Item	Products derived	Additional comments
HEAD
Brain	Human food Laboratory reagents Veterinary medicines Pharmaceuticals Cosmetics	Usually used in processed products, but also sold separately.
Ears	No other use than rendering (see below)
Eyes	Dissection in schools Laboratory reagents (retina)
Head and cheek meat	Human food Pet food
Horns	Gelatine (see below) Fire extinguisher foam Buttons Handles Animal feed Fertiliser
Lips	Human food
Pituitary	Pharmaceuticals	Growth hormones.
Tongue	Human food Pet food Animal feed	The root gland is also used to produce pregastric lipase, which is used in cheese production.
Tonsils	Pet food
Trachea	Pet food Pharmaceuticals	Chondroitin sulphate, used for the treatment of arthritis.
MEAT
Fat	Human food (suet, lard, margarine) Toothpaste Ointments, topically applied medicines and cosmetic products Shortening Chewing gum Adhesives for animal feeds Lubricants Soap Candles Glycerine
Red meat	Human food Pet food
Tail	Human food
Tendon	Pharmaceuticals	Eg, elastin. In addition, often used in ankle/knee support products. (Skeletal and cardiac muscle is also used to produce peptone, a cell culture ingredient.)
ORGANS
Abomasum	Human food Pharmaceuticals Pet food Animal feed	Including rennet. Pepsin.
Adrenal	Pharmaceuticals Laboratory reagents	Eg, steroids.
Bladder	Animal feed
Gall	Pharmaceuticals Cleaning agent in leather manufacture Paint and dye manufacture	Also used by water colourists to improve the absorbency of paper.
Gallstones	Pharmaceuticals
Gut contents	Fertiliser
Heart	Human food Medical devices Pet food Laboratory reagents	Eg, Pericardium patches and heart valves.
Intestines, large	Laboratory reagents Animal feed
Intestines, small	Human food Pharmaceuticals Sutures Laboratory reagents Racquet strings Musical instrument strings	Casings. Eg, glycosaminoglycans, used for the treatment of cartilage and joints.
Kidneys	Human food Pet food
Liver	Human food Pet food Pharmaceuticals	Eg, liver digest, a cell culture ingredient. Contact lens care products use catalase, an enzyme made from liver.
Lungs	Pet food Pharmaceuticals Surfactant	Eg, heparin, an anticoagulant (which is also found in other tissues).
Lymph nodes	Human food Pet food
Oesophagus	Human food Pet food Animal feed	Casings.
Omasum	Human food Pet food
Pancreas	Pharmaceuticals Human food (as 'sweetbread', together with the thymus)	Eg, insulin, chromotrypsin and glucagons.
Placenta	Pharmaceuticals Cosmetics	Eg, glycosaminoglycans, alkaline phosphatases. Also used in the manufacture of foetal calf serum.
Reproductive organs	Pharmaceuticals Pet food	Testicles are made into hyaluronidase, used in the treatment of cartilage and joints.
Reticulum	Human food Pet food Animal feed	Tripe.
Rumen	Human food Pet food Animal feed	Tripe.
Skirt (Diaphragm)	Human food
Spleen	Human food Pet food Pharmaceuticals Cosmetics
Thymus	Human food (as 'sweetbread', together with the pancreas) Cosmetics
Udder	Human food Pet food Pharmaceuticals
Umbilical	Pharmaceuticals	Hyaluronic acid.
Uterus	Pharmaceuticals	Glycosaminoglycans.
SKELETON
Bones (including the raw fat which is contained in the bones, and which is obtained from processing them)	Tallow (see rendering below) Gelatine (see below) Candles Glue Buttons Handles Bone meal (see rendering below) Adhesives for animal feed Lubricants Pet food Soap Glycerine Pharmaceuticals Surgical implants	Made from tallow. Made from bone pieces. Made from bone pieces. Made from inedible raw fat. Made from inedible raw fat.
Spinal cord	Cholesterol Neural lipids	Used in the pharmaceutical industry and as a laboratory reagent.
BLOOD
Blood	Human food Pharmaceuticals Surgical implants Pet food Adhesive for animal feed Leather preparation Glue Fertiliser Foam fire extinguisher Mordant	Eg, black pudding. A wide variety of vaccines use bovine serum albumin and foetal calf serum in their manufacture, as a cell culture medium. Made with bloodmeal. Uses blood albumin. Made using bloodmeal. Made using bloodmeal. Made using bloodmeal. Uses blood albumin.
Leucocytes	Growth factors
Plasma	Foam in fire extinguishers Pharmaceuticals
Red cells	Pharmaceuticals
SKIN/HIDE
Skin/hide	Gelatine (see below) Pharmaceuticals Collagen Leather Felt Fertilisers	Made from the hair.
FEET
Feet/hooves	Gelatine (see below) Human food Pet food Glue Buttons Handles Neatsfoot oil Lubricants Cow-heel jelly Bone meal Foam in fire extinguishers Fertiliser
FLUIDS
Bile	Bile acids Bilirubin	Used in the manufacture of industrial detergents. Used as a measure of liver function.
Cerebrospinal fluid	No other use than rendering (see below)
Nasal septum	Pharmaceuticals	Chondroitin sulphate.
WASTE
Waste from the carcass	Burial/landfill Incineration	See rendering below.
Waste from other industries	Burial/landfill Incineration Sewerage	See rendering below.