Camel’s milk and its associated products may be the next “super food” category, according to USA Today. Several U.S. farms with breeding camels have reportedly adopted camel-milking programs in seven states, with new programs set to open soon in seven more. Scientific studies show that camel milk has higher levels of several nutrients—including protein, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, copper, manganese, vitamin C, and zinc—as well as lower cholesterol than cow’s milk. The process of milking the camels is apparently easier than milking cows, as dromedary (single-humped) and Bactrian (double-humped) camels are taller and do not require seating or crouching while milking them, but they produce less milk than cows. One camel farmer uses a 15-second flash pasteurization process that reportedly retains nutrients more efficiently, but the pasteurization for camel milk has yet to be standardized. See USA Today, June 8, 2014.
Issue 526
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