At a Glance

2008-CP-2-S2

Project Lysis is a novel approach to

reducing boning hall waste. The concept
behind this project was the idea that
meat is deboned to increase its value.
The bones removed by this process still
have some meat attached and are sent to
our Clara plant where they are processed
mechanically to remove more meat. The
bone remaining after this process is the
raw material for Project Lysis which
aimed to save even more by using
enzymes to remove any remaining meat
leaving only clean bone as waste. This
waste is currently sent to rendering
plants where it is broken down into Meat
& Bone meal and Tallow (fat).

Project Lysis Exploring the use of

Proteolytic enzymes to reduce the weight of
bone waste.

This research into enzyme hydrolysis has

opened up other ways to apply enzymes
to the whole area of meat factory waste
stream management. Savings are
illustrated as follows:
Waste Reduction & New Products
Using enzymes Rosderra Irish Meats have
shown that it is possible to convert
approximately 30% or 1,350 tonnes per
annum of this waste bone into useful
protein rich products and high quality
fat.
Energy Reduction
This was achieved with a heating process
which uses approximately 17% less
energy than conventional rendering.
Staff & Company Awareness
This CGPP project has linked with the
Groups ethos of promoting a greener
workplace with an emphasis on
educating the employees in the
achievement of greener processes and
procedures.
It also demonstrates a process which is
actual elimination of waste, a
fundamental idea behind Lean
Manufacturing.

Ballycumber Rd
Clara, Co Offaly, Ireland
Website www.rosderra.ie
Rosderra Irish Meats Group is a leading Irish
food company, based in the Midlands. It is
an international company committed to
absolute quality. Rosderra Irish Meats is now
Ireland's largest processor of pigmeat accounting for approximately 50% of the Irish
pigmeat industry. Formed in March 2008
following a management buy-out of Glanbia
Meats, Rosderra Irish Meats Group supplies a
full range of pork and bacon products
prepared to specification from high quality
raw material. As well as being the major
supplier to the retail and food processing
sector in Ireland, Rosderra Irish Meats
exports to international customers in the EU,
USA, Asia, South Africa and Russia.

Project Description
The use of enzymes in food production is well
established. For example the dairy industry
uses lactases for the production of lactose free
milk or rennet used in cheese manufacturing.
The enzyme used for the bulk of the first stage
trials for this project was a product which was
a blend of endo & exo proteases.
Traditional rendering plants vary in the
rendering method but generally comprise of a
dewatering stage followed by a sterilisation
0
stage. The first stage is at 110 130 C. This is
generally followed by a sterilisation step at
0
133 C for 20mins @ 3Bar pressure.
By using proteolytic enzymes we successfully
split the bone waste into two fractions:

Clean bones

Meaty soup
The process parameters established for the
hydrolysis is again in two stages. The first stage
0
is at 55 C for 45mins, followed by an enzyme
deactivation step which is achieved by
0
increasing the temperature to 80 C and then
remove the heat once that temperature is
reached. The separation of bone from the
hydrolysate was achieved by passing the
mixture through a 0.8mm vibrating sieve. The
weight reduction achieved ranged from 25% to
50% depending on bone type.

Aims of this project

The main aims of the project:
1.

2.

3.

To carry out research into reducing the

weight of bone waste from the Clara
plant, by using enzymes to remove
remaining tissue adhering to the bone.
Currently the waste is processed by
commercial rendering using high
temperature.
To use proteolytic enzymes to reduce
both the temperature and the time
taken to process and
To produce items that have higher value
and provide a protein product for human
and/or animal consumption.

Waste bone before hydrolysis

Waste bone after hydrolysis

When allowed to settle the hydrolysate

forms 3 distinct layers:
Sediment on the bottom
Protein solution in the middle
Fat layer on top
Based on these trails Rosderra could reduce
its bone waste (4,500 tonnes) by about
30% (on average) or 1,350 tonnes per
annum and this was only the waste from
the desinewing plant.
The Clara site produces approximately
2,300 tonnes of skull bone waste by
hydrolysing this would reduce waste
tonnage by 750 tonnes per annum. Product
from this material would only be suited to
pet food. The fat fraction has a readymade
market as an ingredient in animal feed.
Samples of other enzymes were sourced
and tested. One enzyme in particular
removed all the adhered meat but when
the hydrolysate was cooled it formed a gel.
This was an important discovery because
we could now make the protein solution
form a gel and increased its functionality as
an ingredient in extended pork cuts.
Although we consume cured meats in
Ireland e.g. ham, bacon etc... the volume
that we could sell here would be a lot less
than we can produce. To sell in any volume
we needed to go to the continent where
cured products such as continental sausage
are consumed in significant tonnage
Outcomes

This project has gone well from the start

and the research has produced the
following outcomes:
Using enzymes here has been a reduction
of approximately30% (on average) in the
weight of bone can be achieved. The
adhering soft material is digested by the
enzyme and separates from the bone
forming a protein solution with suspended
sediment and high quality fat.
Enzyme selection is important as some
enzymes can achieve the same weight
reduction but produced a protein solution
which forms a gel at temperatures below
0
5 C.
Injection and tumbling of the protein
solution (Bouillon) into Pig meat will aid
tenderness and flavour and also adds value
to the finished product.
Although the protein solution can aid
water and fat binding in comminuted meat
products, (at the 7 - 11% protein level), it
will function much better if concentrated
by evaporation to about 20% protein first.

By drying these products, their shelf life

can be extended from a few days to over a
year and make them easier to handle.
Reducing the water level in the reactor
vessel will create products with higher
protein and dry matter levels, thereby
increasing commercial viability.
As the soft material on the bone contains
Myoglobin it can be cured using Nitrite
which forms a stable pink colour in the
sediment fraction.
Before drying, the fat content of the PME
would need to be reduced and the dry
matter content of the Bouillon would need
to be increased.
Gains & Impacts

Further research is required to establish

markets for these products for human
consumption. But if we include bone waste
from our head deboning operations and
produce products for animal feed only.
Rosderra could convert approximately 3,542
T/year of waste from becoming M&B Meal
with a market value of 120/T, into a high
protein ingredient with a market value of
300/T and achieve this at a saving of
approximately 17% in energy usage.
Due to the high cost of plant & machinery
production for the higher value human
market is a must, however, at least one
rendering company has expressed an
interest in enzyme hydrolysis as a method of
reducing energy costs for some types of
materials. This type of forward thinking
should be encouraged among other
renderers.
Lessons

The use of enzyme hydrolysis in animal

waste processing is certainly transferrable
to all animal species e.g. Beef, Lamb,
Chicken etcnot only for bone waste
reduction but also feather processing and
Tallow extraction from soft animal waste
material. This research into enzyme
hydrolysis has opened up other ways to
apply enzymes to the whole area of meat
factory waste stream management.
More Information:
For more information on this project please
contact:
Liam Jackman
Rosderra Irish Meats Group
Ballycumber Rd
Clara
Co Offaly
Email: ljackman@rosderra.ie
Tel:
00 353 57 9330618
Fax:
00 353 57 9331147

The Cleaner Greener Production

Programme (CGPP) of the EPA is funded
under the National Development Plan 20072013. The CGPP was launched in 2001 as a
grant scheme to fund Irish organisations to
implement cleaner greener practices while
achieving significant cost savings.
Cleaner Greener Production is the
application of integrated preventive
environmental strategies to processes,
products and services to increase overall
efficiency and reduce risks to humans and
the environment.
Production processes: conserving
raw materials and energy, eliminating
toxic raw materials, and reducing
the quantity and toxicity of all
emissions and wastesProducts:
reducing negative
impacts along the life cycle of a
product, from raw materials
extraction to its ultimate disposal.
Services: incorporating
environmental concerns into designing
and delivering services.
The programme aims are focussed on
avoiding and preventing adverse
environmental impact rather than treating
or cleaning up afterwards. This approach
brings better economic and
environmental efficiency.
The CGPP is funded by the EPA STRIVE and
NWPP programmes
Additional case studies from companies that
participated in CGPP are available on our
website (www.cleanerproduction.ie),
including:
A full technical report for each project
Programme brochures, summarising all
projects funded under CGPP
More information on CGPP is available from
the EPA:
Lisa Sheils
Environmental Protection Agency,
Richview, Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)1 2680100
http://www.epa.ie/researchandeducation/research