Ox Gallstones Ghana – Are Beef Processors Making a Fortune From This Rare Byproduct?

It’s the kind of story that gets everyone talking: Monday’s news report that a kilogram of gallstones can fetch $20,000 a pop from a Chinese medicine store somewhere in Asia. That’s a lot of money for meat processors.

But gallstones are a rare commodity, and the Australian cattle industry produces only about 200kg a year. So it’s not surprising that slaughterhouses have cottoned on to the opportunity to pinch a little profit out of the gutting table.

Price

MONDAY’s flurry of media coverage about gallstone theft at an Australian beef processing plant has prompted a number of social media responses, including some who have been left wondering whether processors are really making a fortune from this rare byproduct. But in reality, it is simply not the case and a few facts will help dispel any misconceptions that may be floating around.

The most notable fact is that ox gallstones are a relatively new addition to the Australian meat processing landscape, with only two companies in Australia producing ox gallstones on a commercial basis. In all, Australian processors produce just 200kg of ox gallstones each year.

A small pellet weighing three grams costs around US$195, according to Sunshine Trading, one of the most prominent brokers in the industry. The highest quality, lustrous, golden ox gallstone is also the most expensive.

Ox gallstones are extracted from the intestines of cattle through an intricate process, involving several stages and a lot of patience on the part of the extractor. Some of the more impressive aspects of the process include washing the ox gallstones by hand to remove blood clots and impurities, drying them for two weeks at room temperature and finally packing them in hermetically sealed bags. The name of the game when it comes to ox gallstones is to find a reputable and ethical ox gallstone supplier. Using the services of an online portal like Volza is one of the best ways to go about this task. Alternatively, you can contact an expert in the field to discuss your requirements and needs.

Shape

Gallstones are hardened lumps of bile that form in the gallbladder. They can be round, egg shaped or pyramid shaped and can grow to be large enough to block the bile ducts or even cause the gall bladder to stop functioning properly.

They can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. They can grow slowly, as bile flows over them and collects extra materials, like fat and calcium. They can also travel around the gallbladder and clog up a passageway or create a blockage, requiring a procedure to clear them from the body.

In Ghana, a recent study showed that the cholesterol content of gallstones is a better predictor of their composition than their external appearance. In a series of 90 patients coming to cholecystectomy, 67 stones were classified as cholesterol-poor ( 10% chol by weight), intermediate (10-75% chol) and cholesterol-rich (> 75% chol).

The fatty material in the stones was found to be composed mainly of glycerophosphates. It was also found that the stones were layered in structure. This suggests that the stones grew through cyclical changes in the biliary fluid.

Ox Gallstones are usually a dark greenish brown, though they can be bluish or white. The average gallstone will be the size of a pigeon’s egg, weighing about 10 grams.

There are two main shapes of ox gallstones: egg-shaped and pyramid-shaped. The egg-shaped stones are generally smaller, while the pyramid-shaped ones are a little bigger, but can be as big as a hen’s egg.

Gallstones are a highly valuable commodity in Hong Kong, where they are used as a natural Chinese herbal medicine. They can cost as much as HK$19,000 for one tael, or US$65 per gram. The price of gallstones has been steadily rising over the past year, and is likely to increase in the near future.

Size

Ox gallstones have a long tradition of being one of the most popular cattle by-products to be exported overseas. There is a huge demand for these small, oblong stones that are derived from healthy, BSE-free cattle, primarily because they are an excellent source of high quality calcium which is a key ingredient in Chinese herbal medicine.

The size of an ox gallstone can range from the size of a hen’s egg to that of a small pigeon’s egg, with some weighing as much as 100 grs. The most common shape is the round stone, although there are several variations including the pyramid shaped version, which is of particular interest to veterinarians and other medical professionals who study ox gallstones.

As with all ox gallstones, the most valuable and lustrous pieces are those that are whole and lucid. These have a smooth texture, a fine golden colour and are free from dark spots or other imperfections.

It is no surprise that gallstones are not the cheapest of cattle by-products to be shipped, but they do have an export market worth looking into. If you have the capital and the marketing savvy to make it work, this could be a good opportunity to increase your beef sales while adding a new product to your range and gaining a competitive edge. To find out more about how you can benefit from this potential new source of revenue, contact us today!

Quality

A MONDAY’S report of charges being laid against an employee at a southeast Queensland abattoir over the theft of gallstones has aroused considerable interest among beef producers. A number of social media posts argued that the processors must be making a fortune from the byproduct, at cattle producers’ expense.

The truth is, despite the rumours that they are worth up to $20,000 a kilogram, gallstones are a rare and expensive commodity. Just one in 100 ox-cows can produce a stone, and it takes a great deal of gallstones to produce just one natural (non-cultured) pearl.

Firstly, the price of gallstones varies dramatically according to quality and other factors. Whole, smooth, lustrous stones with a golden colour attract the highest prices. Dark or pitted stones or those with calcium inclusions are of lower value.

It is also important to understand that ox gallstones are not produced by beef processing plants, but are extracted from slaughtered cattle when they are retrieved on the eviscera table during the bile extraction process. They are usually only found in older cattle – cows and bulls.

There are several different types of gallstones, including round, egg-shaped and square. They can be in different sizes, with the smaller ones being less valuable.

After being extracted from the intestines of cattle, they are washed thoroughly to remove blood clots and other impurities. Then they are dried in a well ventilated room at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius for two to three weeks. Then they are flipped regularly to dry on the other side, before being vacuum packed and sealed.

Since 1988 we have delivered cattle gallstones from around the World, with the vast majority originating from Europe and ex-soviet states. Other regions spanning south to central America and also Africa are available at times. However, the largest and most reliable source of gallstones is China, where they are used in Chinese herbal medicines.

Ox Gallstones Ghana – Are Beef Processors Making a Fortune From This Rare Byproduct?