FAIR Project Improving Hide and Skin Quality a project funded by the European Commission The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of its publishers and it in no way represents the views of the Commission or its services.

HIDE AND SKIN IMPROVEMENT - FUTURE PRIORITIES

One of the objectives of the FAIR project on Strategies for Hide and Skin Improvement - carried out by a consortium of COTANCE members - was to develop a list of priorities for possible future research and development projects. This Sixth Project Newsletter outlines four main areas identified as priorities - keeping hides clean, minimising parasite damage, hide and skin identification and evaluation of hide and skin quality incentive systems. These areas are all interrelated and overlap to some extent, but further progress is needed in each of the areas in order to develop a comprehensive approach to hide and skin quality. These four priority areas will be carried forward as proposals for future research projects.

Background

Raw material quality is a prime concern of tanners the world over. The cost of raw material purchase accounts for approximately 60% of the total cost of leather production, yet it is the most difficult quality parameter to control. The hide is effectively a by-product of the meat industry and is often treated as such, resulting in poor leather quality with low value. Additionally, farmers are paid for the animal and frequently are not aware of the value of the hide as a product, thus actively discouraging any quality improvements on farm.

European tanners have developed markets for high quality, niche market products and cannot compete against countries with a lower cost base in the commodity markets. To supply leather into the niche markets requires a high quality raw material, with an intact and defect free grain surface.

There is a need for further investigation into the operating methods of delivering clean animals to the abattoir without damaging the hide or skin, optimum methods of minimising parasite damage to hides and skins, practical and economic methods of identifying hides and skins, and development and evaluation of quality improvement systems, in order to provide some incentive to farmers and/or abattoirs to reflect much more directly the quality and value of the hide in the price.

HUSBANDRY AND HANDLING TECHNIQUES TO KEEP ANIMALS CLEAN ON FARMS AND DURING TRANSPORT

Problem to be addressed

European cattle are typically housed over the winter period and frequently become covered in faecal contamination, leading to erosion of the grain enamel and subsequent downgrading. In addition, dung covered hides also represent increased cost to the tanner in the form of extended process times and increased effluent discharge. Farmers also may clip livestock prior to slaughter but this procedure may lead to cutting of the skin and again damaging the grain surface. It has also been demonstrated that animals slaughtered in a "dirty" condition lead to carcasses with high levels of bacteria that represent a hazard to human health.

The issue of contaminated hides and skins has been investigated with regard to meat hygiene and human health and has resulted in the establishment of a strict hygiene policy in the UK. However, the issue of hide and skin quality in relation to contamination has not been directly addressed and hygiene pressures may in fact lead to a further deterioration in hide and skin quality. It is essential to include quality in any policy to avoid negative impacts to the leather sector, and ultimately the farming and meat sectors, as the price tanners are able to pay for low quality material decreases.

Objectives

Solutions to the contamination issues must occur on farms and include:

• alternative feeding regimes during the finishing process with high dry matter content which

• slow the passage of food through the rumen, thus increasing time for adsorption

• housing strategies to include the use of alternative bedding materials or methods which reduce the build-up of contamination on the hide surface

• methods to reduce the risk of adherence of contamination to the hide surface with the use of commercially available chemicals or preparations

• any methods to clean the hide prior to despatch to the abattoir should cause minimal damage to the hide surface. Such methods may be physical, chemical or a mixture of both but must be non-destructive and not give rise to any meat hygiene issues.

OPTIMUM CONTROL OF ECTOPARASITES

Problem to be addressed

The overall background to hide and skin damage and the growing need to focus on ways of improving quality applies equally here. Ectoparasites, along with the associated scratch damage to hides and skins are probably the biggest cause of damage to hides and skins. Some aspects of the causes, effects and treatments are well understood, while others are less so. There is still a considerable amount of further work to be done to establish an optimum, comprehensive treatment regime.

Objectives

The main objective would be to develop recommended treatment/handling regimes, appropriate to the situation faced on the farm, to recommend a "best practice" and, if possible, to demonstrate other benefits to farmers - such as improved health, welfare and growth rates of cattle and sheep.

The potential for improving yields would be particularly helpful, if it were possible to demonstrate tangible benefits. The aspect of costs compared with potential incentives also needs careful investigation, along with the potential for using "cleaner technologies" - for example aiming to minimise the amount of chemicals/insecticides, and using husbandry practices to keep farms "parasite free" where this is possible. The use of selective breeding to develop resistance to some parasites is a longer term target. The wider impact of zoonoses (transmissible to man) is another aspect of potential incentives to keep animals clear of certain parasites (such as ringworm and ticks).

The main parasites to be addressed are lice, mange, demodex, ringworm, warble, and the sheep scab mite.

In a project carried out by a consortium, the proposal would be that each partner would focus on one main type of parasite damage, or on one aspect of the issue - such as the potential for a "parasite free farm".

PRACTICAL & COMMERCIALLY VIABLE SYSTEMS OF IDENTIFYING HIDES & SKINS THROUGH THE PRODUCTION CHAIN

Problem to be addressed

This project offers the opportunity to address hide quality issues in the European beef and sheep sector and develop a methodology of hide identification which will increase economic performance, whilst improving animal welfare.

The quality of bovine hides is defined by the absence of damage to the grain surface through which the hair fibres grow. This grain surface is visible only after the hide has been partially processed, with the hair being removed to reveal the surface. The tanner is therefore buying his raw material effectively without visible quality indications or origin available and no indication of how the material will perform when processed. This actively discourages quality payments and results in an low average price paid for hides of undefined quality from unknown sources. A clear need exists for a method of hide identification and traceability to enable to free flow of quality information from the tannery to the abattoir and farm. Currently, a barrier to this information flow exists due to the lack of a suitable identification method which makes communication along the chain difficult. This method will need to be robust to withstand the extremes of processing (pH ranging from 2-12) and remain intact during the splitting process (the horizontal cutting of hides to produce two separate pieces, grain and suede). A successful method of hide identification will also assist the access to the gelatin market for domestic material. The restriction on this material and thus, the inability to obtain a revenue for this by-product has reduced the intrinsic value of the hide. These products form an additional and important source of revenue for the European industry, including the farmer, processor and tanner, that would be facilitated by an effective means of hide identification and traceability.

The quality of the tanners’ raw material is affected directly by on-farm management and production methods, and to some extent, operations in the abattoir. It is apparent from the degree of damage seen on partially-processed bovine hides, that these standards are currently inadequate for producing a consistently high quality raw material for the leather industry. If these standards were to be improved, hide quality would increase and result in an improvement in value of the hide and subsequent leather. This would add value along the chain, improving economic performance of all involved sectors - livestock, meat processing and leather.

The majority of raw material damage occurs on the farm during the lifetime of the bovine animal, as a result of environmental conditions during the rearing period. The principal causes of leather downgrading include damage caused by ectoparasites, more specifically lice, scratch, ringworm and dung contamination, all of which could be argued to constitute a welfare compromise. These faults are not visible on the hide due to the presence of the hair but, upon processing, become obvious, detracting from the appearance of the product and reducing both the value and the yield. However, due to the lack of a suitable traceability method, this quality information is lost in the tannery and so opportunity to feed data back to the farmer to enable improvement is not currently available.

HIDE AND SKIN QUALITY SYSTEMS

Problem to be addressed

The background problem is very much the same as that outlined above - any sustainable system of hide and skin improvement needs to be capable of providing some benefit or incentive, through the market chain, to those who can influence the quality - mainly the farmers and the abattoir operators. Any system set up to address this needs to be practical, economic, robust and must be appropriate for the market conditions in which it is to operate. Clearly, hide and skin identification systems have a part to play in some cases, but they are not necessarily essential.

Although there are a number of examples of hide and skin quality systems working in different countries, most of the situations are unique and cannot simply be transplanted to another situation.

Objectives

The main objectives in this area are to evaluate existing hide and skin quality/feedback systems and to assess the best approach in differing market situations in UK and Europe. Existing schemes - such as those operated in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark are based on two main principles - identifying hides and skins through the chain, to allow feedback of information and, potentially payment of incentives; and assurance/endorsement of specified husbandry protocols which would be anticipated to minimise hide and skin damage.

Clearly, this approach would involve elements of all the other areas of work, but the most important aspect is matching a system to the market situation in each country and developing an appropriate recommended framework that can be expected to work in practice. No one scheme is likely to be appropriate for all situations since the numbers and ownership structure of farms, abattoirs, hide collectors and tanners will vary. Also, trade patterns will vary - for example a quality feedback system based on hide and skin identification would become much more difficult if a significant proportion of the material is exported for processing. In such a case, the farm assurance type approach is likely to be more practical. There is much more work to be done on possible systems in the bigger and more complex markets.

Co-ordinator:
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