FORTIFICATION OF RICE(Folic acid and Vitamin B12)

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Introduction

• Food fortification: The deliberate addition of one or more micronutrients to particular foods.

Types of fortification

Mass fortification(general public)

Targeted fortification(specific population)

Market-driven Fortification(business oriented initiative)

Rice fortification

• Definition: Enrichment of rice with essential micronutrients post harvesting to increase its nutritional value.

• Why rice fortification??Perfect food vehicle for fortification (staple

food).Restores the nutritious components in milled

products.Improves daily intake of essential nutrients.

Rice fortification terminology

• Fortificant: Source of each micronutrient.• Fortificant mix: Blend of all the fortificants.• Micronutrient premix: Fortificant mix ready for use

directly in rice fortification.• Rice premix: Rice grains highly fortified with the

fortificant mix.• Retail rice: Polished rice that is packaged at the rice

mills.• Fortified rice: Retail rice combined with micronutrient

premix or the rice premix.Source: Nina et al., 2012

Technologies for rice fortification

• Dusting• Coating• Extrusion

Cold

Hot

Dusting

• Fortification method: Dusting rice grain with micronutrient premix powder (electrostatic forces).

• Characteristics: Micronutrient premix on kernel’s surface lost with rinsing and washing.

• Examples: Iron, vitamin B1, vitamin B3, folic acid.

Source: Nina et al., 2012

Coating

• Fortification method: Fortification mix and liquid made of waxes and gums is sprayed onto the surface of rice kernels in several layers.

• Characteristics: Distinctive color, smell and taste.

• Examples: Vitamin B1, vitamin B3, vitamin B12, vitamin E, folic acid, selenium, zinc.

Source: Nina et al., 2012

Cold extrusiuon

Dough (Rice flour + fortificant mix + water)

Extrusion(Pasta press, below 70ºC)

Cutting

Drying

Characteristics: opaque, slightly off color, easier to distinguish from rice kernelsExamples: Vitamin B1, vitamin B3, vitamin B12, vitamin E, folic acid, selenium, zinc

Source: Nina et al., 2012

Hot extrusion

Dough(Rice flour + fortificant mix + water + steam)

Extrusion [single or twin screw extruder, (70-110)º C]

Cutting

Drying

Characteristics: Similar appearance as regular rice (shine and transparency)Examples: Vitamin B1, vitamin B3, folic acid, zinc

Source: Nina et al., 2012

Quality assurance of fortified rice• Grain shape (rice like or not)• Appearance (off color or not)• Odor (nil)• Grain strength• Moisture content (12%)• KETT value (whiteness)• Cooking quality (90% after rinsing & 80% after cooking)• Weight• Broken content (20%- grade #5, 15%- grade #3, 7%- grade #2)• Microbial(Salmonella, E. coli, S. aureus, Yeast & mold, Aflatoxin B1, B2,

G1, G2)• Coefficient of variation (<15%)

Source: Rice fortification toolkit, 2015

Folate fortification• Essential coenzyme• Deficiency causes: Megaloblastic anemia, birth defects

(neural tube defects), CVD, certain cancers• Polished rice: 3-14 μg/100g (poor source)• General range of fortification (USFDA): 100-300

μg/100g• Criteria for a good folic acid fortification: Prevent the leaching of vitamins during washing and

cooking Mask the yellow color of folic acid in fortified rice

Folate fortification techniques

• Coating: Spraying first with folic acid solution followed by coating with ethyl cellulose (Ashok et al., 2003)

• Parboiling: 70ºC soaking for 3 h with a fortificant concentration of 1.2 g/300g brown rice showed 90% of folate retention {20-300 μg/g}(Karrie et al., 2012)

• Biofortification: Over expressing two Arabidopsis thaliana genes leads to rise in folate retention by 15-100 folds (Storozhenko et al., 2007)

Vitamin B12 fortification• Cofactor (synthesis of methionine)• Metabolic role is closely related to folate• Deficiency causes: Megaloblastic anemia, neurological

disorders• No effect on color and is neutral in taste• Soaking: 90ºC for 15 min (Karathanos et al., 2011)• Spraying: At 35ºC followed by oven drying (Karathanos

et al., 2011)• For physiological reasons, it is highly recommended to

fortify rice with both folate and vitamin B12.

Advantages

• Retention of micronutrients.• Improves nutritional status of population.• Does not require any change in the existing

food pattern.• Minimal risk of chronic toxicity.• Similar to regular rice.

Limitations

• High cost of fortification.• Cannot be consumed by all members of

targeted population.• Often fail to reach the poorest segment of

population.• Technological issues.• Lack of knowledge.

Conclusion• Rice fortification can make a significant contribution to

addressing micronutrient deficiencies.• A broad multi-sectoral strategy should be employed to

improve micronutrient health.• Current technology can produce fortified rice that is safe,

looks and tastes similar to regular rice.• Rice fortification has the greatest potential for public

health impact when it is mandated and well regulated.• As rice fortification is scaled up, it will achieve economies

of scale which will reduce costs.

References

• Ashok et al., 2003. Food Research International.

• Karathanos et al., 2011. LWT - Food Science and Technology.

• Karrie et al., 2012. Journal of Cereal Science.• Nina et al.,2015. Food and Nutrition Bulletin.• Rice fortification toolkit, 2015• Storozhenko et al., 2007. Nat Biotechnol.

THANKS!!