CHAPTER 17 



Processing Animal Feed 



Richard Nelson 



Fish and marine products contribute substantially to animal feeding 

 in North America. Fur-bearing animals, farm animals, zoo animals and 

 birds, pets, and even hatchery fish are fed fish in their diets in varying 

 amounts from a very small proportion to nearly 100 per cent. In 1960 

 over 421 million pounds of fishery products were canned in the United 

 States for use as animal food, and in addition, 67 million pounds of fishery 

 products were frozen for use either as animal food or bait^ 



Animal foods from fishery products are usually derived from the waste 

 of an operation where fish is being prepared for human consumption. 

 Fish fillet waste, steak trimmings, and cannery offal are typical exam- 

 ples. Whole fish is also taken for the specific purpose of preparing animal 

 feed. The use of whole fish will undoubtedly rise as the need for animal 

 feed increases. 



The methods used to process fishery products into animal feeds are 

 essentially the same as the methods used in processing fish for human 

 consumption. Heat sterilization and freezing are the two most important 

 methods used. This chapter will discuss the various aspects of fish proc- 

 essing which are pecuUar to the animal food processing industry and 

 which would not be discussed in other chapters. Fish meal and oil, for 

 example, are extremely important in feed formulation, but these products 

 have already been discussed. 



Raw Material Sources 



Of foremost importance in the development of any segment of the 

 animal food industry utilizing fishery products is the availability of raw 



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