Camel meat tenderizes with refrigerated aging, but color stability declines

Wet aging improved the tenderness and juiciness of camel Longissimus thoracis muscle stored at 0–4 °C for up to 12 days, according to a food-science study, although the most favorable results for texture did not coincide with the best preservation of color. The research examined how refrigerated storage changes the meat’s physicochemical properties, oxidative condition, microbial load, and sensory quality. Tenderness and juiciness improved substantially during aging, while total viable count remained stable across the observation period.

The study was motivated by the toughness that can limit the use of camel meat, an underutilized protein source whose connective-tissue content contributes to difficult chewing. Camel Longissimus thoracis was subjected to wet aging under refrigeration, and the researchers tracked pH, lightness, redness, muscle-structure indicators, and sensory attributes through 12 days. During that period, pH rose from 5.85 to 6.06, a change the authors associated with progressive postmortem structural modification in aged meat. Lightness, expressed on the L* scale, also increased from 49.78 to 53.76.

Color followed a less consistent trajectory. Redness, represented by the a* value, reached its highest reported level on day 9 at 21.77 before declining by day 12. The researchers identified the longer aging period as a trade-off: tenderness continued to develop through approximately day 9, but 12 days of storage compromised color stability and was accompanied by increased metmyoglobin, a form of oxidized myoglobin associated with poorer meat color. Thus, the findings point to an intermediate aging window as more favorable than continued storage when both texture and appearance are considered.

Changes in myofibrillar fragmentation index, together with the rise in pH and the observed improvement in sensory tenderness, may reflect the breakdown and reorganization of muscle structures during postmortem aging. These structural changes are consistent with the tenderization reported in other aged-meat systems, but the study did not directly confirm the biochemical pathways responsible. The authors therefore recommend confirmation through direct proteolytic and proteomic analyses rather than treating the measured indicators as definitive proof of a specific mechanism.

The stable total viable count is another measured feature of the experiment, but it should not be interpreted as a comprehensive demonstration of food safety. The study’s reported results show that the overall microbial load did not change detectably under the tested refrigerated-aging conditions; they do not identify every relevant pathogen, establish a general shelf life, or show how camel meat responds under different handling regimes. Within the scope of the experiment, however, the evidence indicates that refrigerated wet aging can make camel longissimus more tender and juicy, with the strongest balance of sensory benefits appearing around nine days and color deterioration emerging by day 12.

Subject of Research: Physicochemical, oxidative, microbial, and sensory changes in refrigerated wet-aged camel Longissimus thoracis

Article Title: Physicochemical, oxidative, and quality changes during wet aging of camel Longissimus thoracis under refrigerated storage

Article References: Ghazali, M. H., Jaspal, M. H., Nasir, J., Durrani, A. Z., Badar, I. H., Yar, M. K., & Shahid, S. (2026). Physicochemical, oxidative, and quality changes during wet aging of camel Longissimus thoracis under refrigerated storage. Food Science and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-026-02343-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10068-026-02343-1

Keywords: camel meat, wet aging, refrigerated storage, meat tenderness, oxidative changes, metmyoglobin, sensory quality, food science, Physicochemical, oxidative, quality, changes