080216 Researcher: Does Ethanol Byproduct Taint Beef Cattle?

As ethanol production increases, some researchers are questioning the effect the alternative fuel’s byproduct grains have on cattle and the safety and quality of beef.

Distillers grain, the leftovers from producing corn ethanol, has been linked to a 50 percent increase in E. coli when fed to cattle, according to a recent Kansas State University study that looked at dried distiller’s grains. E. coli is a foodborne fecal contaminant that can cause food poisoning or worse if consumed by humans who eat undercooked meat, raw dairy products or produce contami-nated with cow manure.

With approximately 10 million tons of distillers grains produced nationally in 2006 and 16 million tons expected by 2010, according to an Ohio State University study, the ethanol byproduct is being marketed to feedlots and dairy farms across the United States as a source of revenue for ethanol plants.

“It has just blown up so quickly,” said Shawn Archibeque, an assistant professor of animal science at Colorado State University. “Seventy-five to 80 percent of the distillers grains are being fed to dairy and beef cattle.”

Ethanol is produced by converting the starch from corn into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Distillers grains do not contain starch but are concentrated in fiber, fat, protein and other minerals, making the grain an attractive feed for feed lots and other cattle producers.

But while some researchers and cattle ranchers maintain that the product can be a good source of nutrients when rationed with other cattle feeds, agricultural researchers are looking at a variety of effects the product could have on meat, cattle health and the environment.

Increased sulfur in the distillers grains comes from adding sulfur to the ethanol machines, Archibeque said. High levels of sulfur can cause sulfur toxicity in cattle. While that doesn’t taint meat, cattle suffer neurological damage that causes the animals to ram their heads into the wall, stare up at the sky, and, if not treated, die. Researchers are also looking at the marbling quality of meat and how the fat levels can decrease or change with the introduction of certain levels of distillers grains to the diet.

“The more marbling of the fat you have, the more positive eating experience,” Archibeque said. “It’s juicier and not as tough.”

Decreased levels in dairy fat are also a potential concern, driving down the worth of the product.

“For the consumer it doesn’t matter, but how much producer gets paid is based on the fat content of the milk,” Archibeque said.

To solve those problems, researchers are trying to find the right blend of distillers grain and regu-lar grain. Some of that research is going on at a CSU research feedlot in Lamar.

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