Meat Powder and Hydrolysis (stage 2)

Summary

The opportunity

Secondary by-products (bone, fat trimmings) are a significant proportion of the carcass and mostly deliver a minor return while impacting muscle meat yield.  Two technologies that have been investigated (powdering and hydrolysis) which not only significantly improve yield recovery, but importantly the quality and value of meat that then remains fit for human consumption, have been further assessed through to product concepts and an ex-ante business case analysis.

The process

This assessment has involved engaging equipment manufacturers, modifying and building processes and producing product concepts for inclusion in existing commercial products for assessment. This has been followed up by engaging the equipment manufacturers to provide budget quotations for these processes to process at 1 tonne/hr.
 

Key findings

Powdering

The modifications to the powdering process have made it capable of processing a wide range of secondary products where it was previously limited due to fat content. The product concept developed with this process is the milling of a mixture of 30% bones and 70% fat trimmings called DM70. Two product types can be manufactured; 1. Meat extender and edible fat or 2. Undenatured meat extender. DM70 type 2 (rehydrated) has been shown to substitute 30% of 90 CL trim one for one in 100% beef sausages with good acceptance and no grittiness.

Hydrolysis

A small manufacturing process, including an imported reactor from Europe, was setup to produce sufficient bone hydrolysate to enable production trials substituting it for finely textured beef (FTB) in Proform Foods HMEC beef product. It was shown that 70 to 80% of the FTB could be replaced and excellent texture maintained while providing cost savings to the manufacturer.

The conclusions

Pay-back for both processes was found to be within the 2 year time frame while maintaining an IRR of 20%.

The stand-out option was definitely the DM70 type 2 product, which could be used in a wide range of meat products that currently use 90 CL trim, such as sausages and burgers. This product is produced in around 1 second from bone and trim to finished product.