Feed reformulated with feather meal is one way producers can lower costs without losing animal performance, but achieving efficiency in rendering and maintaining high protein digestibility is critical.
By enzymatic action, CIBENZA IND900 accelerates the breakdown of raw feathers during the rendering process at a lower cooking temperature. CIBENZA IND900 is a heat stable protease that improves the protein digestibility of feather meal during the cooking and rendering process.
In addition, the protease activity cleaves more peptide bonds, which results in a feather meal product with higher nutritional value to animals.
Industry research demonstrates that CIBENZA IND900:
• Improves nutritional value of feather meal by increasing digestibility of rendered protein
• Lowers heat requirements of rendering process
• Supports feather meal profitability and environmental sustainability
FIGURE 1. STANDARD PROCESS
Under the standard batch process for feather meal preparation, raw wet feathers are added to the batch cooker at ambient temperature. The temperature is then increased to 120 degrees Celsius and held for a period of time (90 minutes in this example). After cooking is complete, the temperature is then brought back down to ambient levels, the cooked feathers are unloaded from the cooker and further dried and ground to produce final feather meal.
FIGURE 2. CIBENZA IND900 PROCESS
The CIBENZA IND900 process alters the standard process. In this example, 1.5 kgs of CIBENZA IND900 is added to raw feathers as they are loaded into the cooker. The temperature is then raised to a maximum of 60 degrees Celsius and held for a period of 45 minutes to allow for the enzyme to digest the feathers. After the digestion period, the temperature is then adjusted upwards to 120 degrees Celsius and held for a shorter period of time, typically 20 minutes, to finalize the digestion process. This step also serves to inactivate the enzyme. At the conclusion of this stage, the temperature is brought down and the end product processed in the same way as the standard process.
FIGURE 3. CIBENZA IND900 AND STANDARD PROCESSES
The shaded box represents the opportunity for CIBENZA IND900. The change in the overall tempearture profile represents the overall decrease in energy needed to produce feathermeal with the CIBENZA IND900 process. Additionally, this lowered energy usage results in a feather meal that has been produced with a less "harsh" process, resulting in a feather meal with less of its nutrients affected by the high heat and pressure of the standard process. This could mean more value for the protein and fat that is present in the finished product, as well as a product that is more efficiently produced.