Taranaki By-Products executive part of group charged over alleged fake fat export

Taranaki By-Products is one of eight companies charged with unlawfully making and exporting an estimated $29 million worth of tainted fat and meat and bone meal.

Along with Taranaki By-Products, the companies charged are Wallace Proteins, Glenninburg Holdings, SBT Group, Brett Marsh Transport, Graincorp Commodity Management and Graincorp Liquid Terminals.

Two individual company directors, including New Plymouth’s Glenn Raymond Smith, and two employees from the companies, also face charges under the Animal Products Act and Crimes Act, following an investigation by the Ministry of Primary Industries, Radio New Zealand has reported.

Smith, 54, is a director of Glenninburg Holdings, SBT Group and Taranaki By-Products, denied 14 charges when he appeared in the Pukekohe District Court.

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Auckland man Stephen Eric Dahlenburg, 56, a director of Wallace Proteins, Glenninburg Holdings, faces 10 charges.

Former Taranaki By-Products plant manager Paul Alfred Drake, 59, also appeared and denied two charges.

Established in 1936, Taranaki By-Products takes waste products from abattoirs and breaks down the animal tissues into fat and proteins using heat or pressure.

Tallow and meat and bone meal, which are often used in animal feeds, fertiliser or as renewable energy sources result from the process.

Taranaki By-Products, along with the other companies, are accused of knowingly mixing unapproved ingredients, such as used cooking oil or chicken fat, into its products to improve the quality.

Other charges relate to the alleged falsifying or applying misleading export and traceability certificates in order to sell more than 20,000 tonnes of tainted tallow and 16,400 tonnes of adulterated bone meal overseas between March 2019 and August 2020 with New Zealand official assurance.

The Ministry of Primary Products allege the products were not eligible for such assurance.

Exports are highly regulated and manufacturers must adhere to Ministry of Primary Industries-approved plans detailing the types of animals being processed and all inputs into a final product.

Export certificates must also specify the exact ingredients in each product.

More than 140,000 tonnes of meat and bone meal and tallow worth a total of $436m were exported from New Zealand in 2021/2022.

Smith and Drake, along with the other accused, who have also denied the charges, have elected a judge alone trial.

They were remanded on bail to appear back in court on June 30.