Biochemical and nutritional characteristics of fresh camel meat and traditional processed camel meat (nyirinyiri) along the meat value chain

Abstract

Traditional processed camel meat (Nyirinyiri) is a ready to eat meat product prepared traditionally from dehydrated camel meat that is deep fried in fat. The processed product is stored in the same fat and consumed little by little as required because of its long shelf life with desirable taste which pastoral households use in their diets, snack or sell for income. This study analyzed the biochemical, chemical and nutritional status of camel Nyirinyiri from production area in Isiolo County to urban markets including Nairobi to ascertain its safety and quality. Thirty five samples of fresh camel meat and Nyirinyiri were obtained from production, processing and marketing nodes of the camel Nyirinyiri value chain. Molds accounted for 75% at production, 55.5% at processing and 66.7% at marketing nodes with counts highest at the market (1.2 log cfu/g) and lowest at processing (0.8 log cfu/g) relative to production which was (1.0 log cfu/g). The most common mold species were Cunninghamella (20%) and Syncephalastrum (17.1%) relative to Fusarium (14.3%), Alternaria (11.4%) and Paecilomyces (11.4%) while Aspergillus (5.7%), Penicillium (5.7%) and Mucor (2.9%) were least common. Using High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and Agar Diffusion Test methods, aflatoxins B1 and G1 and antibiotic residues respectively, were not detected at all nodes of the value chain. The mean values for crude protein, crude lipids and free fatty acid at the different nodes of the Nyirinyiri value chain were significantly different at P < 0.05% level. The crude protein increased significantly (P<0.05) from 25.26% at production to 49.68% and 48.07% at processing and marketing respectively. There was a significant increase in crude lipids between production (1.18%) and processing (22.04%) nodes of the value chain. The same trend was exhibited at marketing to 24.01%. There was a significant increase (P<0.05) in free fatty acid (FFA) level from 0.2% at production to 0.73% at processing relative to 0.98% at marketing nodes of the camel Nyirinyiri value chain. The results indicate that camel Nyirinyiri is contaminated by spoilage and pathogenic molds. However, it is free from antibiotic residue. Protein fraction and fat increases along the value chain. Key words: Molds, camel, Nyirinyiri, value chain