Animal product

Animal product, or animal by-product, is a term used to describe material taken from the body of a non-human animal. Examples are fat, flesh, blood, milk, eggs, and lesser known products such as isinglass and rennet.

The term is generally not applied to products made from fossilized or decomposed animals, such as petroleum, which is formed from the ancient remains of marine animals. Crops grown in soil fertilized with animal remains are rarely characterized as animal products.

Several human diets prohibit the inclusion of some or all non-human animal products, including vegetarian, vegan, kosher, halaal, and the raw vegan diet.

Common animal products used for food

• Blood, especially in the form of blood sausage
• Broths and stocks are often created with animal fat, bone, and connective tissue
• Carmine also known as cochineal (food dye)
• Casein (found in milk and cheese)
• Civet oil (food flavoring additive)
• Dairy products (e.g., milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
• Eggs
• Gelatin
• Honey
• Honeydew (secretion)
• Isinglass (used in clarification of beer and wine)
• L-cysteine from human hair and pig bristles (used in the production of biscuits and bread)
• Lard
• Meat (including fish, poultry, and game)
• Rennet (commonly used in the production of cheese)
• Shellac
• Swiftlet's nest (made of saliva)
• Whey (found in cheese and added to many other products)

Non-food animal products

• Animal fiber
• Ambergris
• Beeswax
• Blood and some blood substitutes (blood used for transfusions is always human in origin, though some blood substitutes are made from animal sources. Many diagnostic laboratory tests use animal or human sourced reagents)
• Bone, including bone char, bone meal, etc.
• Casein (used in plastics, clothing, cosmetics, adhesives and paint)
• Castoreum (secretion of the beaver used in perfumes and possibly in food flavoring)
• Coral rock
• Ejaculate (used in artificial insemination)
• Feathers
• Fur
• Gallstones (from livestock for Traditional Chinese Medicine)
• Horn, including antlers, ivory, tusks, etc.
• Ivory
• Lanolin
• Leather
• Manure
• Mink oil
• Musk
• Pearl or mother of pearl
• Scales
• Silk
• Sponges
• Tallow, may be used in food and soap
• Tortoiseshell
• Urine
• Venom (used to produce human and veterinary antivenin)
• Scale
• Wool
• soap
• combs
• antlers

Further reading

• Vegan Society - Criteria For Vegan Food
• Mian N Riaz, Riaz N Riaz, Muhammad M Chaudry Halal Food Production, CRC Press, 2004. ISBN 1-58716-029-3
• Extensive list identifying animal-derived and vegan ingredients