PDM Group is a major supplier of feed-fat blends to the farmed animal feed industry in the UK. PDM Group's FEMAS (Feed Materials Assurance Scheme) accredited feed-fat blending operation supplies a wide range of blends to customers such as feed millers, compounders and integrated poultry companies.

The blends are produced to strict guidelines using vegetable oils such as palm and soya oil imported from Asia and South America as well as vegetable cooking oils from UK food factories.

This area of PDM Group's operations developed over the years as tallow and animal fats were used as ingredients in the production of animal feed as a high quality, digestible energy source.

Animal fat-based feeds are widely used throughout Europe, North America and Asia in meat production and provide economic, nutritional and environmental benefits. In the UK retailers require meat producers to use only vegetable-based feed fat blends for their animals.

The UK's change of feed-fat sourcing has created a complete market reversal; whereas in the past the bulk of the fat blend ingredients were manufactured and sourced in the UK today they are imported.

The move to vegetable feed-fat for UK meat production was purely down to 'perception' issues rather than any legal requirements or environmental concerns; indeed meat imported from countries using animal fat-based feed is widely used in catering and retail products in the UK.