Rendered Poultry Fat

The rendering process — applying heat to melt and purify the fat — is the classification trigger. Unrendered poultry fat (fresh, chilled, or frozen fat tissue) is classified in Chapter 2 as a meat or edible offal product. Once rendered into a liquid or solid fat, it moves to heading 150190. Importers should confirm with their supplier whether the product has been rendered, as this affects both the HTS classification and the applicable FSIS inspection pathway.

Feed-grade buyers commonly specify minimum crude fat content, maximum free fatty acid percentage, moisture and impurity levels, and peroxide value as indicators of oxidative stability. For pet food applications, additional specifications around color, odor, and microbial limits are standard. These parameters should be reflected in the Certificate of Analysis accompanying each shipment and are relevant to both FSIS admissibility review and end-user acceptance.