Camel milk from commodity to added value product. The science behind the development of the camel dairy industry

Abstract Text:

Until recently, camels were regarded mainly as packing or racing animals by many including the general public, scientists, funding agencies and policy makers, but the food production potential of the species has been neglected. Camel milk had been produced exclusively by hand milking in traditional farming systems for household consumption. Such a production could not provide constant quantity and acceptable quality of raw milk for urban markets. However, during the last 10 to 15 years intensive camel milk production is going through a major development. Machine milking has been introduced in several traditional camel keeping countries, like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. Small-scale farms in Australia, Europe and USA have also been reported using milking machines for dromedaries. The world’s first large-scale camel dairy farm (EICMP, Dubai, UAE) with processing facility and distribution has been established during this period. In addition, several commercial and scientific projects have been started. The demand for camel milk triggered research and development on camel lactation physiology, behaviour, nutrition, reproduction, husbandry, management etc. In addition, camel milk microbiological quality and chemical composition have been defined; studies were conducted to improve product characteristics and new products were developed such as probiotic fermented milk, laban, labneh, cheese, milk and whey powder. The medicinal properties of camel milk has also received increased attention and noticeable data were published in peer-reviewed medical journals that support field observations and anecdotes from camel keeping countries. Despite significant progress made in intensive dairy management, machine milking, composition and product development, the task is far from completion. More basic and applied research is required on all of the above fields for better understanding and optimized production. Important areas for research could be (1) improvement of machine milking technologies, (2) neuro-endocrine control of lactation, (3) phenotypic and genetic variation of breeds/ecotypes, (4) role and application of environmental factors (like photoperiod, nutrition), (5) variation in milk quality and composition, (6) chemistry of camel milk proteins etc. The aim of this presentation is to review the recent development of the camel dairy industry, summarize our present knowledge on camel milk production and processing and highlight areas for future research.

Keywords: camel milk, intensive management, machine milking