Minor By–products - Neats Foot Oil

NEATS FOOT OIL

  • This is pale, golden yellow oil prepared from cattle feet.
  • This oil does not solidify or gets dry even at freezing temperatures.
  • The average yield is approximately 0.75 to 1 pint of oil from one animal.
  • The oil is used for dressing leather, lubricant for delicate machineries in textile industry and in aeroplane machinery, ships, costly watches, etc.
  • The oil is also used widely in the preparation of ointments in pharmaceutical laboratories and fetches higher price.
  • It fetches a very high price but yield per animal is only a few millimeters.
  • The production of neats foot oil is economic only in places, which are adjacent to the large abattoirs.
  • The preparation of neats foot oil involves the following procedure.
  • Collection and cleaning of the hoofs:
    • The hoofs are cut off from the feet, fresh from the killing floor and washed to free from blood, dirt, etc.
    • The hoofs are immersed in boiling water for sometime and shell is removed with the help of a hammer.
    • Thus, shin bones are fully exposed.
  • Cooking or extraction:
    • Shinbones are cooked in water at 85oC for about 8 hours in open tank or large kettle.
    • The oil will come floating on the top.
  • Purification:
    • Floating neats foot oil is taken in another kettle and again heated at 85oC for 8 hours.
    • The impurities are allowed to settle for 2 hours and the oil is filtered out.
  • Dehydration:
    • The moisture is removed from neats foot oil by heating at 100oC for nearly 2 hours.
  • Packaging:
    • It is done in suitable containers.
Last modified: Thursday, 16 September 2010, 10:49 AM