Nutritional and Food Safety Characteristics of Jameed - A Traditional Dairy Product of Drylands

Jameed is a traditional dried dairy product in Jordan that is known under different names
in the Middle East, Turkey, Central Asia, China, and Mongolia. It has been produced in the region for
centuries and makes a significant contribution (up to 20%) to the income of small-scale traditional
dairy processors who are based in sheep-producing districts. This study aims to assess the nutritional
value of Jameed as a model for traditional dried fermented dairy products and to highlight the safety
of the product quality and some of the health risks that may arise. For this purpose, 80 samples of
Jameed were collected from the market covering all regions of the Kingdom of Jordan. The samples
were analyzed for nutritional value and health risks by standard and approved methods. Results
show that the total solids were 84.57%, with a large variation from 73 to 92%. Producers use a lot
of salt to control elevated acidity during the drying of Jameed. The salt concentrations in collected
samples were 15.68%. The average acidity was 6.79%. Moreover, farmers heavily use antibiotics to
control mastitis without observing milk withdrawal. The residues of antibiotics were detected in
50.65% of the analyzed samples. The samples show large variations in measured values, reflecting
differences in processing methods, homogeneity, and standardization.