Ox Gallstones Grenada – Are Processors Making a Fortune?

The news of a Queensland abattoir employee being charged for gallstone theft has sparked interest on social media. Some commentators have suggested that processors are making a fortune from the cattle byproduct.

But the truth is that gallstones are an extremely rare commodity. Australia produces no more than 200kg a year, according to one of its largest dealers in the commodity.

Product Description

Ox gallstones or bezoars have been around since the dawn of time. Despite their age they still retain their magical properties. The best part is that they are a lot cheaper than you would imagine. This means that you can get your jollies in style without breaking the bank. And since desertcart is a reputable company that has been around for more than three years, you can count on a safe and secure shopping experience. And with free shipping in 164 countries and counting, there is no reason to not give it a shot. You can even try before you buy by taking our short quiz to find out which company is right for you. That is the only way to make sure that you’re not wasting your money on a product that isn’t worth it.

Origin

In the wake of an article published last week about charges being laid against an employee at a southeast Queensland abattoir over the theft of gallstones, the subject has prompted considerable interest among readers. The alleged theft drew attention to the fact that cattle gallstones have been valued as herbal medicines since at least the time of Ancient China, Persia and Greece.

These bilirubin-rich stones have been spruiked as an alternative medicine and used for everything from sore throats to heart disease and cancer, while traditional Chinese medical practitioners believe they have healing properties. They can also be mixed with a number of other ingredients to make pills that are a popular part of the Chinese herbalism industry.

According to Volza, the market leader in Australia for cattle gallstones, prices range from $100 to $2,000 per stone – with some ‘dark and pitted’ specimens being worth significantly less than ‘full bodied’ golden ones. Broker Jenny Murtagh said “stones are 75 percent water when first retrieved from the guts, so when they dry out they are lighter in weight than they were at the time of collection.”

The value of gallstones, according to Mrs Murtagh, also depends on their condition and other factors such as shape and size. She explained that dark, pitted stones were worth significantly less than full-bodied, golden ones, while pyramid-shaped rocks tended to command higher prices.

In the end, it appears that those who own cattle gallstones are primarily meatworkers. Despite Beef Central’s attempts to find out who actually owns gallstones at major Australian meatworks, Mrs Murtagh declined to comment on the matter. She did say, however, that “most” meatworks collect gallstones from their workers because they have a value.

Purity

After the recent gallstone theft story was published, many people were speculating that processors were making huge profits from this commodity at the expense of beef producers. The truth is that, just like pearls, gallstones are extremely rare. The Australian cattle industry produces just 200kg of them each year, according to one of the country’s major dealers.

It is therefore no surprise that the Australian meat processing industry has become an important exporter of these precious bile pigment stones. They are harvested at abattoirs during the bile extraction process on the eviscera table. They can be retrieved in all different shapes and sizes from round to egg shaped.

Most cattle abattoirs in Australia, including the ones in southeast Queensland, collect gallstones purely for the medicinal value they contain. The value is determined by their dryness, colour and texture. Whole, smooth, lustrous, golden specimens attract the highest price. Dark and pitted stones as well as those with calcium inclusions (white) are of reduced value.

The cattle gallstones are washed with cold water to remove blood clots, impurities and other imperfections. Then they are dried for two to three weeks in a well ventilated, dark and temperature controlled environment at about 20 degrees Celsius. The stones are moved regularly during the drying process to ensure they are properly hydrated.

Natural ox gallstones are very sought after in Chinese medicine. They are either sold as a natural product or combined with other ingredients to create proprietary Chinese medicines. They are a very expensive and rare commodity, with the domestic supply of natural gallstones being estimated to be less than one metric ton per year.

Weight

A recent tour de force in the meat biz, one of which traces its roots to a southeastern Queensland abattoir, the ox gall bladder has garnered considerable attention from U.S beef processing execs looking to score a slice of the Asian market. For a few of the more adventurous companies the task of procuring and transporting the prize is daunting to say the least. This hasn’t stopped the likes from putting their best foot forward in the name of business.

Price

When it comes to the price of Ox Gallstones Grenada, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on the quality, shape, size and other factors of each individual stone. Whole, golden-coloured stones are worth more than dark and pitted ones.

A recent report in the Australian media on an employee at a southeast Queensland abattoir being charged for stealing gallstones (click here to read original story) has generated a fair amount of social media discussion, with some commentators suggesting that processors must be making a fortune off them, at the expense of beef producers.

But the truth is that cattle gallstones are a very rare commodity. Just think of oyster pearls: you need to open a huge number of shells before you come across a single natural, uncultured pearl.

The same goes for ox-cow gallstones: the entire production of Australian cattle equates to about 200kg per year, according to one of Australia’s biggest dealers in the white market. But this is not enough to satisfy the market demand for substantial stones, which is why there is a growing grey-market trade in smaller, cheaper ox-cow gallstones.

This is where gutties such as Troy, a Queensland meat worker who has been selling gallstones to slaughterhouses for the past two years, come in. He’s not alone: other meat workers in the industry claim to have made a small fortune by dropping a rock into their boot.

Sunshine Trading, a family business that deals with more than 50 abattoirs throughout the country, now claims to be the “market leader” for cattle gallstones in Australia. Gerard Murtagh, the company’s Director of International Sales, says that his family firm now rakes in an estimated $11.5 million USD from gallstones every year, at a cost to abattoirs of about $10 per kilogram.

Ox Gallstones Grenada – Are Processors Making a Fortune?