Cameleer
05-13-2007, 02:31 PM
JEDDAH, 5 May 2007 — One usually doesn’t have to travel very far in the Kingdom to run into people who are selling containers of freshly squeezed camel milk by the side of the road. But fans of the salty, nutrient-rich liquid will have a little bit more trouble finding their fix now that the Jeddah Municipality announced this past week that it would ban the sale of raw camel milk because of what it calls a hygienic risk.
In Jeddah’s Al-Khomrah area, where many camel herds are located, authorities have already confiscated the equipment that milk salesmen were using for their small-time operations.
Awad Al-Malki, head of the municipality branch of southern Jeddah, said that the municipality’s anti-illegal street vendors committee has confiscated all the equipment used by camel-milk salesmen who are located in Al-Khomrah area.
Al-Malki, who heads municipal operations in south Jeddah, said the crackdown is part of an overall strategy to reduce informal street commerce. Some 70 milk-vending spots in the city have already been raided, he said.
City officials are concerned that unlicensed dairy operations like this pose a health risk. But if you tell that to some residents who have spent their lives drinking fresh camel milk, they’ll scoff.
“I’m quite disappointed that I can’t buy fresh camel milk any more,” said Hamid Al-Harbi, a Saudi from the southern Al-Mahjar district who says he’s been drinking roadside camel milk all of his life with no complications.
“How come they’re doing such a thing so suddenly now,” Al-Harbi asked.
Misfir Al-Zahrani, a middle-aged Saudi living in the Ghulail district, said that he and his family drink fresh camel milk at least once a week.
He said that the ban of selling fresh camel milk is an annoyance, but it will not stop people from going to local farms and buying the milk there instead of at roadside stalls.
Dr. Fawzy Ahmad, a general practitioner at Al-Marwah Clinic, says that drinking raw milk can have its health risks. Bacteria, like salmonella and listeria, he says, can be found in raw camel milk — milk that has not been pasteurized — in quantities that don’t make camels sick but can cause gastrointestinal havoc to humans.
The very young, the elderly and the infirm can have serious, even fatal, complications from bacteria that might also make healthy adults sick for a couple of days.
Camel milk is considered a very healthy nutrient that contains 40 percent less fat than cow’s milk. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, camel milk is three times as rich in Vitamin C as cow’s milk and it is known to be ten times richer in iron and B vitamins. Because of the low lactose content, it tastes saltier.
According to a report posted on FAO’s website, there are an estimated 200 million potential customers for camel milk in the Arab world and millions more in Africa, Europe and elsewhere.
In Jeddah’s Al-Khomrah area, where many camel herds are located, authorities have already confiscated the equipment that milk salesmen were using for their small-time operations.
Awad Al-Malki, head of the municipality branch of southern Jeddah, said that the municipality’s anti-illegal street vendors committee has confiscated all the equipment used by camel-milk salesmen who are located in Al-Khomrah area.
Al-Malki, who heads municipal operations in south Jeddah, said the crackdown is part of an overall strategy to reduce informal street commerce. Some 70 milk-vending spots in the city have already been raided, he said.
City officials are concerned that unlicensed dairy operations like this pose a health risk. But if you tell that to some residents who have spent their lives drinking fresh camel milk, they’ll scoff.
“I’m quite disappointed that I can’t buy fresh camel milk any more,” said Hamid Al-Harbi, a Saudi from the southern Al-Mahjar district who says he’s been drinking roadside camel milk all of his life with no complications.
“How come they’re doing such a thing so suddenly now,” Al-Harbi asked.
Misfir Al-Zahrani, a middle-aged Saudi living in the Ghulail district, said that he and his family drink fresh camel milk at least once a week.
He said that the ban of selling fresh camel milk is an annoyance, but it will not stop people from going to local farms and buying the milk there instead of at roadside stalls.
Dr. Fawzy Ahmad, a general practitioner at Al-Marwah Clinic, says that drinking raw milk can have its health risks. Bacteria, like salmonella and listeria, he says, can be found in raw camel milk — milk that has not been pasteurized — in quantities that don’t make camels sick but can cause gastrointestinal havoc to humans.
The very young, the elderly and the infirm can have serious, even fatal, complications from bacteria that might also make healthy adults sick for a couple of days.
Camel milk is considered a very healthy nutrient that contains 40 percent less fat than cow’s milk. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, camel milk is three times as rich in Vitamin C as cow’s milk and it is known to be ten times richer in iron and B vitamins. Because of the low lactose content, it tastes saltier.
According to a report posted on FAO’s website, there are an estimated 200 million potential customers for camel milk in the Arab world and millions more in Africa, Europe and elsewhere.