The quality, safety, and suitability of animal fat for processing of a specific meat product is a critical issue. Increasing the human awareness about the health aspects associated with increased intake of animal fat, makes camel fat a suitable raw material for meat processing due to its excellent nutritional contribution. Therefore, the target of this study is examination of the sensory, physicochemical, fat oxidation, fatty acid profile, and other quality parameters of camel fat to evaluate the feasibility for processing of different meat products. To achieve this goal, 30 fat samples each from the hump, renal, and mesentery of Arabian male camels were investigated. The results showed that both the renal and mesenteric fat had honey color and medium-soft texture, while the hump had greyish-white color and hard texture. The sensory panel scores were significantly different between the hump and other fats. Hump fat had significantly (P<0.05) higher moisture, protein, and collagen content, while higher fat content was recorded in mesenteric fat. The fatty acid analysis showed that hump had high SFA and very low PUFA in comparison with both renal and mesenteric fat. Camel fat had high oxidation stability, and the mean values were very low in comparison with the levels of quality and acceptability. The ultrastructural analysis showed that hump fat had high elastin fibers which increase its hardness. The results indicated that both renal and mesenteric fat were more suitable for the production of various meat products than the hump.
Fatty acid profile characterization in colostrum, transition milk, and mature milk of primi- and multiparous cows during the first week of lactation
