Camel milk is healthier than cow’s – but does it matter?

Camel milk sales are soaring in India and China. ©GettyImages

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Researchers have long known of camel milk’s health benefits – but flavor and format barriers have prevented the product to really take off globallyPopular in the Middle East and Asia, camel milk is less allergenic than cow’s milk and contain more natural immunity-boosting compounds.

New research published in Food Chemistry found that camel milk had more native and tryptic bioactive peptides – such as immune system-related proteins – and lacked the major milk allergen beta-lactoglobulin.

These may all be compelling reasons for consumers to seek out camel’s milk instead of cow’s – but here’s why this scenario may be improbable in the Western world.

Formats and availabilityCamel’s milk is popular in Africa, the Middle East and Asia but not so much in Europe and North America, where cow’s milk dominates in the dairy aisles.

In its native markets, camel milk is typically sold in powdered form – with shoppers needing to mix the contents with water to derive a drink.

Fresh camel milk is also more perishable than cow’s milk thanks to its lower fat content, making it difficult for the manufacturers to export the fluid product at long distances.

Giving camel’s milk the UHT treatment would solve this problem – but this type of processing has been found to be unsuitable due to protein sedimentation.

Flavor is another challenge at consumer level, with camel milk’s more forward, saltier taste being difficult to swallow for some consumers.

However, product innovation in this space continues to evolve – with brands such as Camelicious and Desert Farms offering both fresh and flavored options and broadening format availability by introducing ice creams and hump fats.

Source:

Beyond nutrition: Exploring immune proteins, bioactive peptides, and allergens in cow and Arabian camel milk

Authors: Manujaya W. Jayamanna Mohottige, Angéla Juhász, Mitchell G. Nye-Wood, Katherine A. Farquharson, Utpal Bose, Michelle L. Colgrave

Published: Food Chemistry, Volume 467, 2025, 142471, ISSN 0308-8146,

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142471