ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Meat co-products are produced by slaughterers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and renderers. Traditional markets for edible meat co-products have gradually been disappearing because of concerns about health and economic returns. In response to these problems, meat processors have directed marketing and research efforts toward inedible applications-for example, pet foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and animal feeds. The literature indicates that co-products (including organs, fat or lard, skin, feet, abdominal and intestinal contents, bone and blood) of cattle, pigs, and lambs represent 66.0%, 52.0%, and 68.0% of the live weight, respectively. Over 50.0% of animal co-products are not suitable for human or animal consumption due to unusual physical and chemical characteristics (1). A valuable source of potential revenue is lost and the cost of disposal of these products incurred by the meat industry is increased if meat co-products are not efficiently utilized. The USDA Economic Research Service announced that the portion of gross farm economic income from animal co-products is 11.4% for beef and 7.5% for pork for 1986 (2). The cost of live animals often exceeds the selling price of their carcasses and the value of the co-products must pay the expense of slaughter and generate the profit for the meat-slaughtering operation. Bengtsson and Holmqvist have suggested that 7% to 12% of the income from slaughter results from the sale of co-products (3). In addition to economic loss, nonutilization of meat products would create serious environmental pollution of water and air. However, with efficient utilization, meat co-products can be important and result in profits for meat processors. The modern livestock industry in the past has been an effective utilizer of co-products and it has often been stated that all of the pig is used except the squeal.
