Study looks to camels for halal gelatin

AL AIN // Make-up, desserts and medicine containing camel gelatin could soon be on shelves, thanks to a team of researchers at UAE University.

About half the gelatin used in dairy and meat processing and confectionery is sourced from pig skin, making it haram for Muslims.

The rest comes from cattle bones but fears over the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy – or mad cow disease – led researchers to look at camels as an alternative.

“The development of gelatin alternatives is highly desirable to food processors because the global market for halal-certified food is growing rapidly,” Dr Sajid Maqsood said.

“To date, however, few alternatives have been available. But camels could be a source of halal gelatin.

“Until now, gelatin from camel by- products did not exist and there is no detailed study being conducted on extraction and characterisation of gelatin from camel by-products, mainly skin.” Dr Maqsood said the number of camels being slaughtered had increased over the past decade. He said 168,000 had been slaughtered in the UAE between 2000 and 2013, while the global figure for that period was 2,568,266.

“There is huge potential in using camel skin as an alternative raw material for a halal source of gelatin,” said Dr Maqsood, whose research was supported by the university’s Programme for Advanced Research.

“Since the camel is a symbol of the Arab world, it is expected that the development of halal gelatin from camel by- products will contribute to solving the issues” of non- halal substances in food.

The major challenges are to optimise the pretreatment and extraction of high-quality gelatin, he said.

“Exploring camel skin as a source of gelatin is interesting as the collagen, the parent protein for gelatin, in camel skin might be different to other ani- mals,” Dr Maqsood said.

The International Islamic University of Malaysia and the King Saud University in Saudi Arabia are collaborating to produce halal gelatine.

Dr Hosam Habib, an expert in nutrition who carried out detailed research on the health benefits of camel milk while at the university, said camel gelatin would be used in food, pharmacology and cosmetics.

“Gelatin from camels will be more accessible now because of the increase in camel meat production,” Dr Habib said.

“There is still a lack of information about the nutrient content of camel gelatin, which needs scientific work to determine the nutrient content compared with other kinds of gelatin.” Maha Rasheed, a mother of three, said more options for people who ate only halal food was a good thing. “So much is produced with non-halal gelatin that it’s good to think there may be more choice out there for us,” Ms Rasheed said. “Halal is a huge market internationally, so it makes sense to develop more alternatives.”