When Pigs' (Plasma) Fly

Written by: AFIA Editor   |   October 13, 2023

Contributing writer: Emily Alvarez, fall communications intern.

Astronauts are faced with many challenges when going into space and spending ample time preparing mentally and physically, but there is always the risk of not having the resources they need or finding themselves in unplanned situations. APC, one of the American Feed Industry Association’s members, was recently asked to provide support for a group of students seeking to understand if dried plasma has applications to support astronaut health care in space.  

When we learned this past summer that APC's spray dried plasma and red cells took a NASA rocket ride in hopes of advancing research to treat traumatic injuries in space, it piqued our curiosity on the animal food industry’s role to space.  

The AFIA’s communications team conducted an interview with APC’s Beth Saxton, director of global marketing, to learn more about this innovative development.

Saxton explained that the project began with a simple website inquiry.

“Students had researched that porcine blood is similar in composition to human blood and wanted to test the viability of rehydration in space. We were intrigued and wanted to help these young scientists to learn more.”  

Porcine blood is normally used as a nutritional source of protein and amino acids in animal feeds and foods. Since porcine blood most closely matches human blood in shape, size, lifespan and hemoglobin content, the team felt APC’s spray dried plasma and red cells would be the next best thing for gathering useful data.  

Currently, APC has a sister company that develops a concentrated fraction of plasma, used as an oral immune supplement. Saxton explained that the use of animal plasma fractions for human applications continues to be explored. 

Saxton explained that APC’s spray dried plasma is either pure beef or pure pork blood originating from meatpacking facilities.  

“The blood is immediately collected, filtered, chilled and transported to our facilities where it is separated into red blood cells and plasma. From here, it is spray dried into a powder and becomes a highly digestible form of protein. The biologically active components in plasma are preserved during processing. Plasma is used in a variety of animal food applications making it a flexible ingredient.”   

The plasma launched Aug. 15 and the students have high hopes that the composition of the blood won’t change, but will not know more until further research and testing. “If unchanged, it will lead to more research with practical applications,” Saxton said.   

APC has participated in and led many scientific research studies over its 40+ years in business. Saxton said, “At the heart [of APC’s research] is the desire to understand how orally consumed plasma can improve animal welfare. Using every part of the animal and creating zero waste is core to our business.” 

The animal food industry regularly turns ingredients leftover from food and other industries into highly nutritious ingredients for livestock, poultry, fish and pet health, so that is nothing new. It is great to see other applications of these products explored, which could further our understanding of human health care too.