Gelatine is manufactured from three raw materials

Gelatine from GELITA Group is manufactured from selected collagenous raw materials from pigs (pigskin), cattle (split) and their bones. These materials are taken only from animals that have been released for human consumption by the relevant veterinary authorities.

Pigskin

Pigskin

The principal suppliers of pigskin are slaughterhouses and meat processing factories. There, the split is separated from the underlying layer of fat and, depending on the distances involved, transported to our gelatine factories fresh, cooled or deep-frozen. If necessary, the material is stored in our own refrigerated warehouses until required.

Split

The mid-layer of the animal skin is an important raw material in gelatine production. Subsequent to slaughter, the skins are sent to skin-processing factories where they are subjected to intensive washing with milk of lime or other alkaline solutions to remove the hair.

The skin is then separated into three layers:

Prior to transporting to the gelatine factory, lime or salt is added as a preservative. Once at the factory, the skins are thoroughly washed and cut into hand-sized portions.

Bones

Bones

Gelatine produced from this source is primarily for photographic and pharmaceutical applications. The raw material is obtained directly from slaughterhouses, general processing and meat-processing factories. A complex process then begins: the bone is first chopped into sugar cube-sized pieces; the fat and any residual flesh adhering to the bone are then removed in a combined process involving water, heat and agitation. The bone is then dried, sorted according to particle size and demineralised, leaving a material known as ossein which is the actual starting material in the manufacture of gelatine.