About Rendering

Rendering transforms animal by-products into valuable ingredients, reducing waste and supporting sustainability!

What is Rendering?

The rendering industry is a vital component of the global agri-food system, responsible for transforming animal by-products, materials not intended for human consumption, into valuable and sustainable resources. Through controlled thermal and mechanical processes, rendering converts these materials into high-quality proteins, fats, and minerals that serve as essential ingredients for animal feed, pet food, biofuels, fertilizers, and oleochemical products. By doing so, the industry prevents millions of tons of organic matter from entering landfills, significantly reducing waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental impact.

Beyond recycling and resource recovery, the rendering sector upholds strict standards of quality assurance, biosecurity, and regulatory compliance to ensure product safety and traceability. It plays a central role in the circular bio-economy, turning challenges into opportunities for innovation, sustainability, and economic growth. By maximizing the use of every part of the animal, the rendering industry not only enhances efficiency and food security, but also supports a more resilient and environmentally responsible global food chain.

Oils, Fats and UCO

High-Energy Ingredients for Feed, Food, and Fuel

Animal fats and used cooking oils (UCO) are valuable outputs of the rendering industry, obtained through the processing of animal by-products and the collection of recycled oils from the food sector. These materials are refined into high-quality lipids used across multiple industries, including animal feed, pet food, biofuels, oleochemicals, and fertilizers. Rich in energy and essential fatty acids, rendered fats and oils serve as crucial components in balanced nutrition and renewable energy production. The integration of UCO into rendering supply chains further strengthens circular bio-economy practices, reducing waste and promoting resource efficiency. Strict quality assurance, biosecurity, and sustainability standards ensure that these products meet regulatory requirements and contribute to a more resilient and environmentally responsible global agri-food system.

Animal Proteins

From By-Products to High-Quality Feed Ingredients

Animal meals are high-protein ingredients produced through the rendering of animal by-products not intended for human consumption, such as meat trimmings, bones, poultry remains, and fish waste. Through controlled heat and mechanical processing, moisture and fat are removed, yielding nutrient-dense meals like meat and bone meal, poultry by-product meal, feather meal, and fish meal. These ingredients are widely used in animal feed, aquaculture, and pet food for their excellent amino acid balance, digestibility, and mineral content. By converting by-products into valuable feed inputs, animal meals support sustainability, circular economy practices, and feed security, while ensuring high standards of quality, safety, and biosecurity across the supply chain

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Mastering Rendering: The Buyer’s Guide

It is designed for you, someone eager to explore and deeply understand the rendering industry!

This practical guide equips professionals with the tools to navigate the world of rendering ingredients, including product categories, quality indicators, supply chain dynamics, and global trade perspectives, all framed within the principles of sustainability and the circular economy. Whether you are a supplier of rendering products, developing new ingredients, or entering new markets, this book provides clarity and confidence to make smarter, more sustainable decisions.

Main Destination Industries

The rendering industry supplies essential ingredients that power multiple sectors of the global economy. Its proteins, fats, and other co-products are key components in animal feed, pet food, aquaculture, and fertilizers, providing sustainable nutrition and reducing dependence on finite resources. Beyond feed applications, rendered fats contribute to the development of biofuels and serve as valuable inputs for oleochemicals, cosmetics, and other industrial products. By transforming by-products into high-value materials, rendering drives the circular bio-economy, strengthens biosecurity, and promotes sustainability across diverse industries.

Rendered animal protein meals are globally recognized for their exceptional nutritional value, serving as rich sources of calcium, phosphorus, protein, and essential amino acids. When incorporated into feed rations, animal fats supply highly digestible energy and enhance palatability. Around the world, renderers operate under rigorous quality control and biosecurity standards, ensuring that their products are safe, consistent, stable, and affordable. These ingredients play a vital role in sustainable sourcing for animal feed, contributing to balanced nutrition, resource efficiency, and the advancement of a circular bio-economy that supports animal health and environmental stewardship.

Aquaculture depends on high-quality compounded feeds to support the healthy growth and development of fish and other aquatic species. Rendered products provide a sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible source of proteins and fats for these aquafeeds. Extensive research worldwide has demonstrated the nutritional, economic, and ecological benefits of incorporating rendered animal meals and fats in aquaculture diets, delivering essential amino acids and energy while reducing reliance on finite marine resources and lowering overall production costs. By integrating rendering into feed formulations, the aquaculture industry advances both efficiency and sustainability within the circular bio-economy.

In the pet food industry, rendered protein meals such as meat meal, poultry by-product meal, and fish meal play a vital role as highly digestible, nutrient-dense ingredients. They deliver the essential amino acids, minerals, and energy needed to support the health and longevity of companion animals. By transforming by-products into safe and consistent raw materials, renderers provide the foundation for balanced, high-performance diets while significantly reducing waste and environmental impact. Their contribution extends beyond nutrition, ensuring food safety, promoting sustainable sourcing, and reinforcing the pet food sector’s commitment to a circular and resource-efficient economy.

The rendering sector is a key contributor to the renewable energy landscape, providing essential feedstocks for the production of biomass-based diesel and other low-carbon fuels. Through the use of animal fats and recycled cooking oils, renderers supply materials that enable the creation of clean, efficient, and environmentally compliant fuels. These renewable inputs help lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce reliance on traditional fossil sources. To further unlock their potential, continued government incentives and industry innovation are vital, ensuring sustained progress toward a greener, more sustainable energy future.

The rendering industry plays a pivotal role in the oleochemical sector, supplying essential animal-derived ingredients such as tallow and lanolin that serve as key building blocks for cosmetics, personal care, and industrial applications. Through advanced refining and purification processes, these materials are transformed into high-quality, safe, and versatile components that meet the strict standards of the beauty and skincare industries. Rendered oleochemicals are valued for their moisturizing, emollient, and stabilizing properties, contributing to the formulation of soaps, creams, lotions, and other premium products. By repurposing by-products into valuable raw materials, the rendering industry supports sustainable sourcing, circular economy principles, and innovation across the global cosmetics supply chain.

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Learn why rendered ingredients remain the cornerstone of feed, biofuels, and diverse industrial applications!

Mastering Rendering: The Buyer’s Guide offers a complete reference to rendered proteins, fats, and other co-products, integrating technical, commercial, and regulatory perspectives.

Policy Issues

Government decisions affect the future of the rendering industry. NARA is actively engaged to represent the interest of our members to legislative, regulatory and other government agencies on issues that impact them. NARA members, staff and government affairs experts meet regularly with key government officials, Members of Congress and their staff to advocate for positions and policies that enhance opportunities for renderers and promote the industry's sustainability.

NARA members, staff and government affairs experts meet regularly with key government officials, Members of Congress and their staff to advocate for positions and policies that enhance opportunities for renderers and promote the industry's sustainability.

Pet Food and Animal Feed Safety

Pet Food and Animal Feed Safety

Rendering plants comply with FDA regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and maintain quality and safety control systems. The FSMA ensures rigorous quality requirements to guarantee pet food safety, with preventive controls, monitoring, and collaboration with local and state bodies. Under the FSMA, all food production facilities must provide a written plan for how they will implement safe preparation protocols. This documentation must include:

• An evaluation of food safety hazards.
• An outline of preventive controls to protect against hazards.
• A description of monitoring to ensure controls are working correctly.
• An ongoing record of monitoring activities.
• A plan for correcting any safety issues that could arise.

Rendering Industry Code of Practice

The Rendering Industry Code of Practice provides a unified framework of technical and regulatory standards guaranteeing safety, quality, and traceability of rendered ingredients. Built on HACCP, GMPs, and aligned with FSMA, EU Regulation 183/2005, and Codex Alimentarius, it establishes protocols for raw material sourcing, processing, biosecurity, and risk management through preventive controls, audits, and compliance verification.

• Proteins from animal co-products can supply critical amino acids to support pet's health.
• The nutrients sourced from rendered products offer a wide range of minerals that meet pet's day-to-day dietary needs.
• Fats and other materials repurposed from meat processing can supply several vital vitamins to keep pets healthy.
• The carbohydrates in rendered animal food can help provide the energy pets need every day to thrive