Freeze dried goat tongue powder

Summary

Australian goat tongue is a delicacy in many cultures and has a reputation for meeting the highest standards in biosecurity and animal husbandry, with animals raised free of chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). Grassfed goat tongue provides proteins that can help strengthen the immune response and provide nutrients for the oral tract.

This MLA Donor Company (MDC) project involved proof of concept development of freeze-dried goat tongue powder for use in health supplements and functional foods to support better health and wellness in humans.

This project will assist the Australian goat meat industry get a foothold into the lucrative organ supplement market, which is growing due to popularity from people interested in learning about and trying glandular supplements for targeted support, glandular therapy, paleo diets, carnivore diets and keto diets. 

Objectives

The objectives of this project were to:

• develop proof of concept goat tongue powder, including preliminary process map, product costings, lab assays, specifications and brand development
• capture market feedback on concept and value proposition(s) for Australian goat tongue powder. 

Key findings

• Freeze-dried whole raw goat tongue tissue extract involves freezing under vacuum to remove water and retain all nutrients of the original food and retaining all-natural occurring vitamins, enzymes, nucleotides, lipoproteins and all other cellular components.
• The powder contains approximately 50% healthy saturated fats and 50% protein (amino acids).
• Raw tissue extracts are toxin-free, from animals grazed on rangelands known to be free of pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics or chemical additives.
• This natural product is made without sugar, starch, preservatives, artificial, colours or flavourings, or genetically modified organisms.

Benefits to industry

This proof of concept development has led to a commercially viable freeze-dried goat tongue powder being used in several commercial products for protein peptides, natural vitamins and minerals.

Freeze drying 200kg of raw goat tongue produced 50kg of freeze-dried goat tongue powder, resulting in a 20% yield. The wholesale price of freeze-dried goat tongue is $120/kg. Since the yield is 20%, the true value per kg of raw material is $24 per kg, resulting in a 5 to 6 times value multiplier.

MLA action

MLA continues to work with companies that are looking to use technology platforms to create increased value from traditionally low value streams in the red meat industry.

MLA will participate in future market research activities to identify key target market opportunities for red meat glandule supplements, that are manufactured in, and from, Australian red meat sources.

Future research

Improving the available information and communication of health benefits of organ meat, in particular goat tongue, should educate the wider population, including influencers such as pharmacists and health practitioners and help increase demand.

More work is required to increase yields of the final product from 20% to 30% through improved drying and milling methods.