Composition and heat stability of moroccan camel milk

Fifty samples of camel's milk were collected from local breed and analysed for their composition, heat stability and microbial counts. Average milk composition was (in w/v) : 10.8% for total solids, 2.7% for fat, 3.3% for protein, 4.1% for lactose, 0.83% for ash and 0.24% for chloride. Mean nitrogen content, in mg/100 ml was 510, 344, 80 and for total nitrogen, casein nitrogen, non protein nitrogen and whey protein nitrogen, respectively. The pH value, titratable acidity and specific gravity were 6.61, 0.17% and 1.032 respectively. The heat stability of camel milk was relatively lower at high temperature treatments. Heat coagulation time (HCT) in the range 100-130 degrees C was too short (< 2 min). In these conditions, camel milk heat preservation can be done only by pasteurisation. Average microbial counts (cfu/ml) in raw milk were 2.17 x 10(5) for aerobic total Count, 2.30 x 10(4) for psychrotrophic bacteria and 1.64 x 10(4) for total coliforms. After LTLT pasteurisation, counts of aerobic total and psychrotrophic bacteria were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced and coliforms were not detected.