Animal fat raw materials

Abstract Over six billion pounds of tallow and grease are produced yearly in the United States, and almost 90% of these animal fats are utilized in feeds and as raw materials for industrial chemicals—both domestically and abroad. The fatty acid profile of an animal fat is a function of the kind of animal from which the fat was derived, as well as the breed, age, and diet of the animal. Impurities in the fat determine its grade and depend primarily on this history of the fat as well as on external contaminants which may have been added inadvertently.