Page 37 - FoodFocusThailand No.246 October 2026

SMART PRODUCTION PRODUCTION
SMART

UNLOCKING THE VALUE OF

LIVESTOCK BY-PRODUCTS

AS HIGH-VALUE INGREDIENTS FOR PET FOOD

The increasing global demand for meat consumption has resulted in the enormous quantities of by-products
and co-products from animal slaughtering as much as 30-40% of an animal’s live weight (Vasconcellos
et al., 2024), including internal organs, bones, blood, hides, fats, and animal hair. Most of these materials are
commonly down-cycled into low-value products or disposed of (Bou et al., 2025). Upcycling these resources
into pet food therefore represents an important approach to advancing the circular economy by reducing
protein waste and increasing value across the supply chain. Compared with landfilling or incineration,
upcycling can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70% by decreasing the resource demand
and land for new livestock production. It also has the potential to increase the overall value from livestock
by as much as 15–30%.

At the same time, the growth of the pet food market is breaking down protein macromolecules into smaller molecular
driving the industry to seek ingredients that address nutritional fractions (Anuar et al., 2017; Vasconcellos et al., 2024). These
quality, palatability, and sustainability simultaneously. technologies include:
Processing meat trimmings and animal organs into palatants, • Enzymatic Hydrolysis: The application of protease
in both liquid and powder forms, is an example of value enzymes, such as Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Papain, or enzymes
creation in line with circular economy principles. Materials from Bacillus licheniformis, in combination with appropriate
that might be used as fertilizer or low-value animal feed control of pH, temperature, and time (Miltenburg et al., 2020;
can instead be transformed into functional ingredients that Therdthai, 2025; Bou et al., 2025). The protein hydrolysis can
enhance the acceptability of pet food. This not only creates be classified according to the Degree of Hydrolysis (DH) as
added value but also generates new economic opportunities follows:
throughout the pet food supply chain. - Limited Hydrolysis (Low DH): Improves functional
properties, such as gel-forming capacity and emulsion stability.
Bioprocessing Technologies: - Intermediate Hydrolysis (Moderate DH): Focuses on
Extraction of Bioactive Peptides and enhancing flavor and palatability through the release of short-
Flavor-Enhancing Compounds chain peptides and free amino acids.
From a technological perspective, enzymatic hydrolysis is - Extensive Hydrolysis (High DH): Further breaks down
an important approach for breaking down protein chains proteins into peptides with molecular weights below 10,000
derived from bones and joints into smaller peptide molecules or 2,000 Da, with the aim of reducing immunogenicity and
that can be readily absorbed by companion animals. supporting the development of hypoallergenic diets.
This process may also help reduce the potential for food • Bioactive Peptides: Beyond their nutritional value,
allergies. Meanwhile, freezing and low-temperature drying enzymatically hydrolyzed poultry by-product proteins,
technologies can transform organ meats, such as liver referred to as Hydrolyzed Poultry Meal (HPM), can
and lungs, into premium-grade pet treats while preserving release bioactive peptides with antioxidant activity and
vitamins, taurine, and collagen. In addition, the use of meat the ability to inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE),
residues as a biological substrate for rearing black soldier an enzyme involved in blood pressure regulation. These
fly larvae (BSFL) represents a nutrient-cycling process that properties suggest that HPM may have potential applications
can generate clean protein and lipid powders for large-scale in research and development targeting cardiovascular health
applications in the pet food industry. Furthermore, converting in companion animals. Miltenburg et al. (2020) reported that
livestock organs, blood, and hides into stable palatants/ enzymatic hydrolysis of poultry by-products increased ACE-
digests requires bioprocessing technologies capable of inhibitory activity to as high as 90.4%, compared with 52% for

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