Dried Camel (<i>Camelus dromedarius</i>) Meat Contributing to Food Safety

Abstract

The effect of static drying on the physicochemical quality of camel (Camelus dromedarius) meat slices as driedin an oven at 65 °C, with the aim of contributing to food safety. During the experiments, meat was cutinto. 8 ± 0.2 cm thick slices, soaked in a saline solution for 30 min, and then dried. Moisture content wasmeasured during the drying phase, and physicochemical parameters, such as protein, ash, sodium, pH, and mineral content, such as calcium (Ca), phosphor (P), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn), were monitored before and after drying. The colorimetric parametersof the dried samples are also measured. The results show that the physicochemical quality of the dried camelmeat meets the requirements of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Indeed, the moisture content decreased from 73.94 ± 0.51% to 13.33 ± 0.44%, and the dried food samples were characterized by increases (i) from 19.72 ± 0.30% to 50.97 ± 0.65% in protein content; (ii) from 1.115 ± 0.012% to 4.781 ± 0.047%, in ash content; (iii) from 260 ± 11.7 mg to 1690 ± 32 mg, in the sodium content (for 100 g of dry matter), and (iv) from 5.956 ± 0.087 to 6.203 ± 0.091 in pH value. However, the variation is not significant for all mineral content parameters. Finally, themean values of the colorimetric parameters of brightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) are 37.13 ± 1.64, 22.02 ± 0.72, and 7.73 ± 0.69, respectively (before drying) and they are 25.57 ± 1.56, 9.43 ± 0.78, and 3.74 ± 0.21, respectively (after drying).

Keywords

• <i>Camelus dromedarius</i>
• camel meat
• drying
• quality
• safety food