DARLING INTERNATIONAL INC. ANNOUNCES ISSUANCE OF SUBORDINATED NOTES

Irving, Texas, January 2, 2004: Darling International Inc. (AMEX: DAR) announced that on December 31, 2003 it issued Senior Subordinated Notes in the amount of $35,000,000 and applied the net proceeds of such notes to reduction of its outstanding term loan under its Senior Credit Facility. Darling International Inc. is the largest publicly traded, food processing by-products recycling company in the United States. The Company recycles used restaurant cooking oil and by-products from the beef, pork and poultry processing industries into useable products such as tallow, feed-grade fats and meat and bone meal. These products are primarily sold to animal feed and oleo-chemical manufacturers around the world. In addition, the Company provides grease trap collection services and sells equipment to restaurants. The Company’s common shares are traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol DAR. The closing price of Darling’s common stock on December 31, 2003, as reported by AMEX, was $2.76 per share.