Opportunities and perspectives for utilisation of co-products in the meat industry

Meat co-products are the non-meat components arising from meat processing/fabrication and are generated in large quantities on a daily basis. Co-products are considered as low added-value products, and in general it is difficult for industries to divert efforts into increasing their value. While many of these products can be edible those not used for human consumption or pet food is usually processed to be used as animal feed, fertilizer or fuel. However, to a large extent meat co-products are an excellent source of high nutritive value protein, minerals and vitamins and hence may be better diverted to contribute to alleviate the increasing global demand for protein. In this review the current uses, legislation and potential techniques for meat co-products processing are reviewed with the aim of showing a route to improve meat industry sustainability, profitability and better usage of available resources.