Optimization Studies for the Improvement of Shelf-life of Brown Rice

Engr. Rosemarie G. Garcia Food and Nutrition Research Institute

Presented at the PCIEERD RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges Nabua, Camarines Sur December 5, 2012

 The rice importation

o Based on the data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, our top agricultural import in 2010 was wellpolished rice o Importation was valued at P7.38B for 2,378 thousand metric tons of rice o Our rice production in 2010 was 10,315 thousand metric tons

 The micronutrient deficiencies

o Iron deficiency anemia was highest among pre school children 6 months to 5 years old based on the 2008 National Nutrition Survey
o Prevalence of anemia were highest in Cagayan Valley, SOCCSKSARGEN and Ilocos Regions o Zinc deficiency was noted in 30.8% of school-aged children, 32.2% in male adolescents, 31% in adults and 39.7% among lactating mothers

 The emerging health problems

o Prevalence of high FBS (> 126 mg/dL) increased from 3.4% to 4.8%, peaking at age 50-69 years old o No. of overweight individuals had almost doubled since 1993 o Overweight and obesity affected 27 in every 100 adults

Our solution

 Facts on brown rice

o Brown rice is more nutritious than white rice o Bran layer is rich in fiber, minerals and B- vitamins o Brown rice is low in glycemic index o There is shorter milling time and higher output volume when brown rice is produced

 The problem with brown rice

o Shelf-life of brown rice is short o Consumers are not aware of the health benefits of brown rice o Brown rice is expensive and not readily available o These had to be addressed to increase utilization of brown rice

 In 2011, the FNRI- DOST implemented a program on brown rice

Project 1: Optimization Studies for the Improvement of Shelf-life of Brown Rice

Project 2: Mineral Bioavailability, Dietary Fiber and Fermentability Characteristics of Optimized Brown Rice

 Objectives
To improve the shelf-life of brown rice through process optimization To determine the retention of nutrients, microbiological safety, and sensory properties of brown rice after processing and during storage; o To determine mineral bioavailability, dietary fiber and its fermentability characteristics

 Screening experiments

 Optimization experiments

 Storage studies
o Optimized brown rice from four (4) varieties kept in the storage facility of a commercial rice mill in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija

 Summary of results
o The factors affecting the stability of brown rice were variety, time before treatment, heat treatment used, packaging and storage conditions

 Summary of results
o Optimized treatment parameters significantly prolonged the shelf-life of brown rice from 1-3 months to 4-9 months of storage at an actual rice mill storage facility

% FFA of brown rice after nine months of storage

50

45

40

35

% FFA (as oleic acid)

30

25

20

15

10

B variety control

B variety treated

C variety control
0 month 5th month

C variety treated
7th month

D variety control
3rd month 8th month

D variety treated
4th month 9th month

E variety control

E variety treated

1st month 6th month

2nd month

 Summary of results
o Optimized brown rice were not significantly different compared to control brown rice in terms of overall acceptability and proximate composition

o All the brown rice samples were safe for human consumption

Graphical representation of the acceptability of appearance of raw brown rice during storage

9.0 8.0

7.0
9 point hedonic score 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0

Control

Treated

Control

Treated

Control

Treated

Control

Treated

B variety
month 0 month 5

C variety
month 1 month 6 month 2 month 7

D variety
month 3 month 8 month 4 month 9

E variety

 Summary of results

 Summary of results
o All rice varieties have greater zinc content and bioavailability from optimized brown rice than milled rice. o Similar results were obtained for iron and calcium content and bioavailability.

 Summary of results
o All brown rice from 4 varieties were good sources of dietary fiber and produced short chain fatty acids after dietary fiber fermentation and were more pronounced with propionate o Propionate production from fiber fermentation may have a significant role in the prevention for risk of cardiovascular diseases.

 Recommendations/future work
o It is recommended that the optimized processing parameters be studied on a bigger scale and the technology be transferred to rice millers o Use of alternative drying techniques for shorter and more cost-effective process in the production of stabilized brown rice

 Future work
o Intensive promotion and marketing strategy to be developed and implemented
o Roll-out of the technology to millers to make stabilized brown rice readily available for consumers

 Future work
o An intervention study is recommended to validate and document the promising health and nutritional benefits of brown rice varieties used in this study