Protein recovery from slaughterhouse wastes

Only 15% of the waste blood generated in the Mexican meat industry is used for animal feed. However, waste blood is a slaughterhouse by-product that h as potential for both animal feed and human food, because of its high prote in concentration and quality. The aim of this work was to recover protein f rom red cells of bovine blood. Red cells were hydrolyzed with papain and up to 32% of the heme group released by this process, was separated by ultraf iltration. Treating the retentate with sodium hypochlorite produced a white product, which was 75% protein, nearly 1% ash, and almost tasteless. Resul ts indicated that the protein contained in the white fraction had a good am ino acid profile for use as an ingredient in formulated foods for human con sumption. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.