Rape cake
Rape cake is high in fat and protein and is used as animal feed, much like rapeseed meal. As a Hamburg-based wholesaler with a strong network, August Töpfer & Co. offers high-quality rape cake at a low price.
What is rape cake?
Rape cake – once also called rapeseed expeller – is created as a by-product from the mechanical pressing of rapeseed in oil mills. Depending on how intensely the rape cake is pressed, the pressed mass contains a variable amount of residual oil. On average, it has a fat content of around 11-18 percent. High-protein rape cake has primarily established itself as a protein supplement in feed for bull fattening and dairy cow feed. The feed ration is determined by the fat content of the pressed rape cake.
Pressed rape cake available from ATCO
As a distributor and wholesaler of food and non-food products, August Töpfer & Co. can look back on a long history steeped in tradition, dating back to 1912. We are a well-networked comprehensive provider in the import and export market and offer freshly pressed rape cake as a proven and popular feed in our product range. All our products are certified according to current test standards and are subject to regular, independent quality inspections. Buy our rape cake at current, attractive prices now.
Rape cake: production
Rape cake refers to the pressed material obtained in rapeseed oil production in decentralised oil mills. The rapeseed is first milled and heated to increase the oil yield. Next, the seed is cold-pressed in rollers. This process is known as cold-pressing of rapeseed oil. The mills are also known as expeller presses, which account for the outdated term rapeseed expeller. The oily pressed rapeseed expeller is what comes out of the end of the extrusion press. Depending on the type of mill and the process, the rape cake may already be produced in the form of pellets or as platelets or flakes. A single tonne of rapeseed yields around 0.8 tonnes of rape cake.
Difference between rape cake and rapeseed meal
Rape cake should not be conflated with rapeseed meal. Rape cake and rapeseed meal are both by-products of rapeseed oil production, but they differ in how they are extracted. While rape cake results from the mechanical cold-pressing of rapeseed without the use of solvents or heating, rapeseed meal is produced with the use of solvents such as hexane in industrial oil mills. The added solvents are then removed again through a wet heat treatment process involving water vapour. Rape cake is primarily characterised by its high fat content, while rapeseed meal is considered to be particularly low in fat and high in protein and is predominantly used in feeding dairy cows due to its high utilisation properties.
Rape cake: nutritional value
The nutritional value of rape cake depends on the pressing processes, as these affect its composition and fodder value. The degree to which the rapeseed is pressed determines the fat content and thus also the nutritional value of rape cake as a feed. On average, the fat content amounts to between 10 and 15 percent of the dry mass. Since the amount of fat also affects the amount of protein and crude fibre, the law requires that the proportions of crude protein, crude fibre and crude fat are stated when rape cake is sold. The content of amino acid-balanced protein in pressed rape cake amounts to 30-36 percent on average, while crude fibre accounts for 7.8 to 13 percent. Moreover, the feed is rich in potassium, sulphur, phosphorous and calcium. The amount of rape cake in feed rations is restricted primarily due to the crude fat content.
Dry beet pulp chips: use
Although pressed rape cake is also used in energy generation by fermenting it in biogas plants, its main use lies in feeding livestock such as beef cattle, dairy cows and pigs. In pelletised or non-pelletised form, rapeseed expeller can be stored loose in siloes and barns for a long time – at any time of year – despite its fat content. However, it’s important to ensure the storage location is completely dry and protected from the elements. While the protein and fat content is key for rapeseed meal, it’s the fat content of rape cake that determines its rationing in feed.
Our rape cakes are certified:
