MUSCAT — The pink colouration of bones and teeth of goats imported from Somalia that is scaring away meat consumers in Oman is not harmful to human health, tests here have confirmed.

Scientists at Sultan Qaboos University’s College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences said the colouration is caused by goats feeding on the leaves of the plant Cordeauxia edulis that produces a pigment called cordeauxiaquinone.

This leads to the formation of a compound which gets deposited in the bones pigmenting them, a spokesman for the college said on Tuesday, adding: “The team determined the effect of this pigment on bones’ mineral composition, structure and function in Somali goats browsing Cordeauxia edulis.”

“Despite the variation in bone mineral composition in pink and non pink bones, the bone tissue and structure of animals with pink bones was not damaged. The animals were physically vigorous, healthy and did not show any physiological abnormality,” the spokesman said.

“Moreover, neither their meat nor their internal organs showed notable pathological signs or changes in flavour, colour or odour. Other studies have shown that the coloured bone does not contain toxic ingredients,” the spokesman for the college  added.

The researchers involved in the study were Dr Mohammed Tageldin,  Mohammed Al Abri and Mohamed A. Mansour 
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Source: khaleejtimes

Photo: Somalis sell goats at Afgoye’s market, the biggest livestock market in southern Somalia. Abdurashid Abdulle Abikar.

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