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In Depth Info About Emu Oil Emus & The Emu Industry Industry Development
The American Emu Association was founded in 1989 to serve as a guide for the then fledgling American emu industry. Unfortunately, the directors of the AEA at that time felt it was unnecessary to utilize professional marketing assistance to help lay the ground work for selling the byproducts. The strong demand for the birds in the early 1990s attracted too many investors and speculators which resulted in the crash of the breeder market by 1995. This resulted in ranchers creating too many emus with no established outlets for byproducts. The current successes in the emu industry are due primarily (if not solely) to independent entrepreneurs who have created and marketed viable emu products. Today the emu is no longer considered an exotic animal. It is now classified as poultry in the state of Washington. Mandatory Inspection of USDA butchered emu meat was approved in 2000. Since emu oil is considered a cosmeceutical (both cosmetic and therapeutic), it is not regulated by the FDA. The only regulating body for assessing emu oil quality is the American Emu Oil Standards Committee. Our superior feed program, processing and refining by Texas A& M have helped our emu oil exceed industry standards. Texas A&M can provide a MSDS (Material Safety Date Sheet) for our oil upon request. Anyone marketing emu oil products must provide a MSDS to customers who request it. See "MSDS" Most ranchers currently raising emus are focused on selling meat products. In order to realize a profit, the meat must sell for about $10.00 or more per lb. retail. The consumer is generally not willing to pay this for red meat. As a result, most ranchers have been forced out of the business. Emu meat will always occupy a niche market along with other meats, such as Buffalo, Elk, Venison, and Ostrich. Beef is too familiar and easier to prepare regardless of its perceived unhealthy benefits. Some emu producers have found a profitable market in pet food processing. Since it will be used for animal consumption, costly USDA processing and the expense of familiarizing consumers with the meat are not required. Most ranchers
who grow emus send the fat to a lab where it is "banked"
and rendered together with fat from birds all across the country.
EPMI (Emu Producers Marketing Incorporated) is the largest co-op using
this system. EPMI sends finished product (under the name of Royal
Perfection) back to the rancher to sell. All these emu oil products
are developed in a lab using commercial formulas with the addition
of oil rendered from banked fat. As a result the quality and consistency
of the products vary whereas emu oil and products from a single source
of fat will not. This is an especially important factor in creating
an oil that provides consistent therapeutic results.
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Emus
were originally imported to the US from 1930 to 1950 as exotic zoo
stock. In 1960, the emu was designated Australia's national bird and
a government ban on exporting the emu has been in effect for over
30 years. Most of today's breeding birds originated from the original
zoo stock and can actually be traced back to several pairs. With inbreeding
being a concern, stock from Europe (mostly France) was introduced
to add diversity to existing bloodlines. The Australian emu industry
started in the late 1970s - early 1980s with federal government support
to provide economic independence for the local aboriginal people,
the Ngangganawili tribe in Wiluna, Western Australia. A research farm
was established with the original intention of selling engraved emu
eggs and leather. With the vision of Stephen Birkbeck, the longest
serving full-time emu farmer in the world, the emu industry blossomed
into a viable cosmetic, fashion leather and meat industry.