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Volume 7: Medicines and Cosmetics
9. Consideration of an audit of the uses of cattle tissues

Annex 1 to Chapter 9: The cattle carcass: routes of use in the late 1980s

Annex 2 to Chapter 9: Uses made of the cattle carcass

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
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
Gelatine
Candles
Glue
Buttons
Handles
Bone meal
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
Pharmaceuticals
Collagen
Leather
Felt
Fertilisers
Made from the hair.
FEET
Feet/hooves
Gelatine
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
Nasal septum
Pharmaceuticals
Chondroitin sulphate.
WASTE
Waste from the carcass
Burial/landfill
Incineration
Waste from other industries
Burial/landfill
Incineration
Sewerage

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