Camel Milk Gains Support as Next Popular “Super Food”

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.

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