GO BLOOD4GOODS: Obtaining high added value products from slaughterhouse waste blood as a sustainable and low-cost management alternative

It is estimated that slaughterhouses in Spain generate 5.1 million tonnes of by-products per year, of which 200 million kg are blood. This by-product is of particular concern from an environmental point of view, given the high volumes generated, their polluting load and their complex composition, which make their management difficult.

Currently, despite its high potential for obtaining high added value products, it is mainly managed as SANDACH waste. Although this entails a significant administrative and legal burden and an associated cost, it is the only economically viable alternative for most companies.

On the one hand, having an on-site protein recovery system, taking into account the alternatives currently available, entails a minimum estimated cost of around €5 million, which is a very high price that the vast majority of companies in the sector cannot afford. An alternative could be centralised treatment systems, however, they also entail a significant investment at an industrial level, in terms of the environmental impact of the activity (on-site activity does not generate new environmental impacts), which limits its development.

They also have a significant environmental impact due to the carbon footprint of transporting waste. Currently, only the large slaughterhouses located in Catalonia and the Mediterranean Arc manage blood in this way, which represents around 30% of the total.

The meat sector needs to focus on taking advantage of the opportunities presented by slaughterhouse blood and rely on science and technology to develop low-cost management alternatives that can be adopted by companies and transform blood from undesirable waste into a valuable resource.