Chicken pet food {AU}| chicken meat processing | AusLCI, U
Unit process Australia v00.00.000
Include all activities taking place at the abattoir, as well as the rendering process to result in the production of meat and co-products of offals, raw hides, pet food and rendered products (meat and bone meal, blood meal and tallow). Management of by-products (gut content) is also included. Representative of an average Australian abattoir, the source data is representative of 68% of national red meat production (bovine and ovine). All activities is expressed per kilogram of Hot Carcase Standard Weight (HCSW), a common industry measure. The dressing rate can be used to convert the HCSW into liveweight (LW). At the abattoir, the hot carcase is allowed to cool down, a process during which it will shrink through moisture loss, reported as chilling loss by the industry. The cold carcase is then processed into retail cuts. The proportion of retail cut produced from a cold carcase is referred to as the retail yield. It was developed as part of the LCAgMetrics project, a partnership between Agrifutures Australia and Lifecycles, funded by the Australian Government's Sustainability Reporting Uplift Grant as part of the National Agriculture Traceability Grants Program. Documentation for this dataset can be found in the 'LCAgMetrics Methodology for developing Life Cycle Inventory' report, available at https://agrifutures.com.au/ Reference flow: 1 kilogram of hot carcase standard weight Production volume: 1868988 tonnes/yr Activities included: The activity starts with the delivery of Poultry to the abattoir and ends ends once end products are ready to be delivered (abattoir gate). Energy values: Undefined Nutritional values: Undefined Geography: Australia Technology level: Current Time period: 2020-2025 Record: Paul-Antoine Bontinck; Tel: +61(0)3 9417 1190; email: office@lifecycles.com.au; company: Life Cycle Strategies; Country: AU Generator: Paul-Antoine Bontinck; Tel: +61(0)3 9417 1190; email: office@lifecycles.com.au; company: Life Cycle Strategies; Country: AU
- Sector
- Material
- Contributor
- —
- Last updated
- 10 Jun 2025
- Reference ID
be4738eb-8b9e-3beb-b8c6-6b137409e430
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Documentation
- Quantitative reference
- Chicken pet food {AU}| chicken meat processing | AusLCI, U
- Sampling procedure
- Data collected from secondary sources, including industry reports and statistics
- Creation date
- 10 Jun 2025
- Is copyright protected
- No
- Is infrastructure process
- No
- Tags
- material
- Sources
- —
Product outputs
| Flow | Amount | Unit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken pet food {AU}| chicken meat processing | AusLCI, U | 13.985784507042254 | kg | Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.438 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.29 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass. |
Technical inputs
| Flow | Amount | Unit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon correction factor {AU}| | AusLCI, U | 0.5345080881685711 | kg | Allocation correction for retail cuts - which is the only product for which biogenic carbon has been rebalanced in this inventory. For the other coproducts a subsequent balancing process is used. |
| Chicken pet food , biogenic C not balanced {AU}| chicken meat processing | AusLCI, U | 13.985784507042254 | kg | mass of liveweight animal required to produce one kilogram of hot carcase weight, calculated using the dressing rate. |
Parameters
| Name | Value | Formula | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| BioC_Curr_All_petfood | 1.241966259915936 | (BioC_Inputs+BioC_all_Corr_retailcut)*all_petfood/100 | Biogenic carbon currently being allocated to pet food before correct is applied - in kg C |
| ALLOCATION_PARAMETERS | — | — | — |
| renew_electricity | 0.8 | — | [kWh / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| total_energy | 5.7176928225885 | FR_retailCut*energy_retailCut+FR_offal*energy_offal+FR_petFood*energy_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock*energy_RenderFeedstock | — |
| All_retailCut | 96.75105684542471 | iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_retailCut;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_retailCut;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_retailCut;All_Pro_retailCut))) | Selected allocation to retail cuts |
| BioC_balance | 39.74804829822537 | BioC_inputs-BioC_outputs | Current balance between biogenic carbon inputs less biogenic carbon outputs in kg C. |
| FR_waterLoss | 0.02161215 | — | [kg/kg LW] Fraction calculated from Table 1, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| bioC_Outputs | 203.3209657862817 | (FR_retailCut*CC_retailcut*DM_retailcut+FR_offal*CC_offal*DM_offal+FR_petfood*CC_petfood*DM_petfood+FR_RenderFeedstock*CC_RenderFeedstock*DM_RenderFeedstock+FR_waste*CC_waste*DM_waste)*LW | Total biogenic material exported from the process in kg C |
| BioC_Actual_petfood | 1.776474348084507 | FR_petfood*CC_petfood*DM_petfood*LW | Biogenic carbon which should actually be allocated through to pet food in kg C |
| FR_retailCut | 0.564836449 | — | [kg/kg LW] Fraction calculated from Table 1, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| All_Pro_RenderFeedstock | 27.26840035933068 | FR_RenderFeedstock*protein_RenderFeedstock/total_protein*100 | Protein based allocation to render feedstock |
| BioC_Actual_retailcut | 104.5345202797183 | FR_retailCut*CC_retailcut*DM_retailcut*LW | The actual amount of biogenic carbon which should be allocated to retail cuts in kg C. |
| DM_hide | 0.33 | — | Dry matter fraction |
| diesel | 0.6 | — | [litres / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| COPRODUCTS__ | — | — | — |
| All_En_petFood | 0.8093013747991316 | FR_petFood*energy_petFood/total_energy*100 | Energy based allocation |
| water | 6919.7 | — | [litres / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| BioC_Inputs | 243.06901408450707 | LW*DM_Livechicken*CC_Livechicken | kg biogenic carbon imported in with input animals |
| All_SWITCH | — | — | 0: economic; 1: mass; 2: energy; 3: protein |
| DM_waste | 0.1 | — | Estimate |
| FR_RenderFeedstock | 0.346378505 | — | [kg/kg LW] Fraction calculated from Table 1, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| CC_Petfood | 0.438 | — | (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content of 0.4 as DM, NIR 2023 (DCCEEW 2025) |
| value_retailCut | 6.4763 | — | (2,1,1,1,na,na)[AU$/kg] Reported value for CY24, MLA (2024) Australian retail meat prices, https://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/statistics/ |
| All_petFood | 1.1046407037038664 | iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_petFood;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_petFood;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_petFood;All_Pro_petFood))) | Selected allocation to pet food based on allocation switch - default is economic |
| CC_RenderFeedstock | 0.345 | — | (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content of 0.5 as DM |
| All_Mass_offal | 2.0496894452207863 | FR_offal/total_mass*100 | Mass based allocation |
| All_Pro_offal | 1.7945985268139693 | FR_offal*protein_offal/total_protein*100 | Protein based allocation to offal |
| FR_petFood | 0.009929907 | — | [kg/kg LW] Fraction calculated from Table 1, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| CC_Livechicken | 0.541 | — | (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content 0.541 of animal as DM. (Average carbon content of 0.175 C/kg liveweight assuming dressing of 63%, carcase composition of 70% meat, 20% fat and 10% bone; dry matter content of 15% by-product (blood, rumen, heads and hooves), 25% meat, 85% fat and 74% bone; and carbon content of 53% by-product, 53% meat, 76% fat and 7.5% bone.) |
| value_RenderFeedstock | — | — | [AU$/kg] Assumed to be nill |
| EDV_diesel | 38.5 | — | [MJ/litre] NGA 2024 |
| All_Mass_petFood | 1.055900668407546 | FR_petFood/total_mass*100 | Mass based allocation |
| energy_retailCut | 4.12 | — | (3,na,1,1,na,na)[MJ/kg] Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2025) Australian Food Composition Database, F002594: Chicken, breast, lean flesh, raw |
| All_Mass_retailCut | 60.06211176399182 | FR_retailCut/total_mass*100 | Mass based allocation |
| total_value | 3.780889236696422 | FR_retailCut*value_retailCut+FR_offal*value_offal+FR_petFood*value_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock*value_RenderFeedstock | [$/kg] Calculated based on value of each output and fraction of live weight |
| CC_waste | 0.5 | — | Estimate |
| BioC_all_corr_petfood | 0.5345080881685711 | BioC_Actual_petfood-BioC_Curr_All_petfood | Biogenic carbon correction to adjust the effects of allocation in kg C |
| LW | 1408.4507042253522 | HSCW/dressing_rate | — |
| energy_RenderFeedstock | 9.3957 | — | (3,na,4,1,na,na)[MJ/kg] Calculated based on the energy content of tallow, meat meal and blood meal, and yield of those materials from processing waste, as reported in Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| retail_rate | 0.82 | — | [-] Ratio of retail cut to hot standard carcase weight, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| FR_offal | 0.019275701 | — | [kg/kg LW] Fraction calculated from Table 1, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| protein_retailCut | 0.225 | — | (3,na,1,1,na,na)[kg protein/kg] Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2025) Australian Food Composition Database, F002594: Chicken, breast, lean flesh, raw |
| value_petFood | 4.2060053 | — | (3,1,1,1,4,na)[AU$/kg] Assumed to be equal to offal value |
| HSCW | 1000.0 | — | — |
| electricity | 146.2 | — | [kWh / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| chicken_meat_allocation | 98.5 | — | Copley & Wiedemann (2023) Page 494 |
| PROCESS_PARAMETERS | — | — | — |
| natural_gas | 347.5 | — | [MJ / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| protein_petFood | 0.169 | — | (3,na,1,1,4,na)[kg protein/kg] Assumed equal to offal |
| FR_waste | 0.03796729 | — | [kg/kg LW] Fraction calculated as the balance between material fraction reported by Wiedemann and Yan (2014) and the total |
| dressing_rate | 0.71 | — | [-] Ratio of hot standard carcase weight to liveweight, Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| DM_retailcut | 0.3 | — | — |
| BioC_all_corr_retailcut | -130.63731971079656 | BioC_Actual_Retailcut-BioC_all_retailcut | This is the correction to the biogenic carbon required to balance the biogenic carbon for retail cuts rs in kg C. |
| protein_offal | 0.169 | — | (3,na,1,1,na,na)[kg protein/kg] Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2025) Australian Food Composition Database, F002709: Chicken, liver, raw |
| All_Eco_RenderFeedstock | — | (FR_RenderFeedstock*value_RenderFeedstock)/total_value*100 | Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI |
| CC_retailcut | 0.438 | — | — |
| All_En_offal | 1.5709967192559804 | FR_offal*energy_offal/total_energy*100 | Energy based allocation |
| All_Mass_RenderFeedstock | 36.832298122379854 | FR_RenderFeedstock/total_mass*100 | Mass based allocation |
| total_protein | 0.18152212989851 | FR_retailCut*protein_retailCut+FR_offal*protein_offal+FR_petFood*protein_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock*protein_RenderFeedstock | — |
| total_mass | 0.9404205619999999 | FR_retailCut+FR_offal+FR_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock | — |
| All_Eco_offal | 2.1443024508714252 | (FR_offal*value_offal)/total_value*100 | Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI |
| protein_RenderFeedstock | 0.142902 | — | (3,na,4,1,na,na)[kg protein/kg] Calculated based on the protein content of tallow, meat meal and blood meal, and yield of those materials from processing waste, as reported in Wiedemann and Yan (2014) |
| All_Eco_petFood | 1.1046407037038664 | (FR_petFood*value_petFood)/total_value*100 | Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI |
| All_En_RenderFeedstock | 56.919261324625424 | FR_RenderFeedstock*energy_RenderFeedstock/total_energy*100 | Energy based allocation |
| biogas | 43.6 | — | [MJ / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| All_offal | 2.1443024508714252 | iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_offal;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_offal;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_offal;All_Pro_offal))) | Selected allocation to offal based on allocation switch - default is economic |
| value_offal | 4.2060053 | — | (2,1,1,1,na,na)[AU$/kg] Modelled using beef offal as a proxy, asreported value for CY24, in MLA's Monthly co-product market reports for a range of edible offals |
| CC_hide | 0.153 | — | Carbon content 0.0 of wet season mix |
| DM_Livechicken | 0.319 | — | Dry matter fraction of Poultry |
| All_Eco_retailCut | 96.75105684542471 | (FR_retailCut*value_retailCut)/total_value*100 | Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI |
| CC_offal | 0.438 | — | Carbon content 0.0 of dry season mix |
| All_Pro_retailCut | 70.0125109241808 | FR_retailCut*protein_retailCut/total_protein*100 | Protein based allocation to retail cuts |
| OTHER_PARAMETERS | — | — | — |
| All_RenderFeedstock | — | iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_RenderFeedstock;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_RenderFeedstock;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_RenderFeedstock;All_Pro_RenderFeedstock))) | Selected allocation to render feedstock based on allocation switch - default is economic |
| energy_offal | 4.66 | — | (3,na,1,1,na,na)[MJ/kg] Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2025) Australian Food Composition Database, F002709: Chicken, liver, raw |
| LPG | 3.5 | — | [MJ / t HSCW] Copley and Wiedemann, Table 5 |
| energy_petFood | 4.66 | — | (3,na,1,1,4,na)[MJ/kg] Assumed equal to offal |
| BioC_all_retailcut | 235.17183999051485 | LW*DM_Livechicken*CC_Livechicken*All_retailCut/100 | Biogenic carbon allocated to retail cuts in kg C. |
| All_En_retailCut | 40.70044058131946 | FR_retailCut*energy_retailCut/total_energy*100 | Energy based allocation |
| All_Pro_petFood | 0.92449018967454 | FR_petFood*protein_petFood/total_protein*100 | Protein based allocation to pet food |
| DM_petfood | 0.29 | — | Dry matter fraction |
| DM_RenderFeedstock | 0.54 | — | Dry matter fraction |
| DM_offal | 0.29 | — | Dry matter fraction |