Biobased and Other Animal Co-Products Research

News and Events

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Weekly Activity Report

The annual meeting of the Research Liaison Committee of the American Leather Chemists Association (ALCA) was held on April 24-25, 2012, at the Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC), Wyndmoor, PA. Outside participants included representatives of the US Hides Skins and Leather Association, chrome and vegetable tanning industries, suppliers to the tanning industry, and users of the collagenous byproducts of the leather industry. ARS participants in addition to BOAC scientists were Center and Area administrators and the National Program Leader. This meeting brings together stakeholders and customers of the ERRC hides and leather research program. Stakeholders greatly appreciated ERRC’s progress, particularly on airborne ultrasonic inspection of hides, tanning mechanism, eco-friendly unhairing, manure removal, and new applications for tanning wastes. Stakeholders commented ERRC’s hides/leather research is needed to secure a viable future for the American hides and leather industries. They also suggested Hides researchers need to take the lead in developing methods to simultaneously protect both the meat and the hide. A tentative date was set for the next meeting at ERRC in April 2013.