UUDISED

GOOD PROJECT EXAMPLE: Valorisation of Organic Animal By-products for the Production of Gourmet-food concentrates

The problem to be solved

Generally, global food production corresponds to the biological needs of the population. However, uneven access to food has resulted in approximately a billion people suffering from hunger. On one hand, protein deficiency, including deficiency of proteins of animal origin is particularly high. On the other hand, production of animal proteins is not environmentally sustainable because worldwide huge amounts of animal feed is used for it. For example, on average, depending on the animal species, 4-5 kg of grain is used to produce 1 kg of bone-in meat consisting of about 25% proteins. Hence the need for more complete usage of available protein resources.

The deficiency of proteins of animal origin cannot be decreased by the means of the technologies currently used for processing animal by-products obtained in meat processing. This is caused by the technology, which does not enable to make use of the raw material (such as fascia, ligaments, bones, rind, blood) containing proteins suitable for food production. These by-products are mostly used for technical purposes, thrown into the sewerage or incinerated. It would be more efficient to use the animal by-products obtained in meat processing for the production of protein concentrates which can be the basis for products with rich sensory properties. 

Production of protein concentrates with semi-industrial test equipment. The photo shows students from the University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands cleaning the test equipment. The foreign students worked on the project as a part of their apprenticeship		The model products enriched with protein extract produced in the project. Left: white wine truffle sauce; middle: classical Hollandaise sauce; right: red wine sauce. Photo: Rain Kuldjärv

Project outcomes

The main objective of the project was to valorise the by-products obtained during the production and processing of animal products, as well as to add value to the products based on local raw material and consequently, increase the range of gourmet food products. The project started with the identification of suitable by-products and appropriate technologies for processing these by-products, which enabled to generate high-quality animal-derived protein extracts.

Different methods enabling the production of such protein extracts were tested. The obtained protein extracts were analysed to assess their quality and suitability for producing gourmet products. The project outcomes demonstrate that it is possible to use animal by-products obtained during the production and processing of animal products, as well as products based on local raw material for increasing the range of gourmet food products. Moreover, it gives good results. Different possibilities identified in the project have been mapped and analysed. Next, it is up to the clients to decide on their possibilities for using the described technological valorisation processes, decide on the feasibility of these possibilities and assess the potential added value to gourmet products.

“Production of high-quality protein concentrates from meat processing by-products is a vacant market niche in Estonia at the moment.” Rain Kuldjärv, the research partner of the project