Rendering is the process of converting animal fats and proteins (meats and poultry, fish, seafood, and cheese products) into saleable products such as tallow, meat and bone meal, and dry pet food.
Rendering is the process of cooking and drying animal byproducts, then grinding them into a powdery substance. This powdery substance is used as a protein source in pet food.
The rendering process begins with slaughterhouses collecting dead animals and animal byproducts from farms and ranches. These byproducts include meat, fat, bones, and organs. The byproducts are collected into large bins or vats and transported to a rendering facility.
At the rendering facility, the byproducts are dumped into large tanks or barreled until they can be processed further. Then they are cooked at very high temperatures for several hours to neutralize any bacteria that may have been present on their surfaces during transportation or storage.
This process is called “cooking.” After cooking, the material is cooled down to room temperature before being ground into a fine powder using large grinders called hammer mills or choppers that work much like coffee grinders do at home except they’re much bigger than those small ones we use at home in our kitchens!