Camel Meat Production, Structure, and Quality

Abstract

This chapter aimed to discuss population, meat production, and quality characteristics of camels. Camels are considered environmentally friendly and well adapted to the desert's harsh arid and semiarid environment due to their high movability, adequate fodder demand, and water regulation. Camels are most populous in the East Africa and Middle East. Although approximately 250,000 camels are annually slaughtered in many countries and camels as a producer of meat is becoming much more significant, camel meat market has not yet developed. In 2019, the global camel meat production in Africa was leading with 419,933 tonnes production, followed by Asia (210,000 tonnes) and Europe (179 Tonnes). An important feature that characterizes camelid meat products is the low level of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat compared to red meat sources. Pre- and post-mortem factors should be carefully considered to improve camel meat quality characteristics. According to the health aspects and quality of camel meat, it can be successfully marketed alongside cattle, dear, sheep, and goat.