Date of Graduation

7-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Food Science (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Food Science

Advisor/Mentor

Wang, Ya-Jane

Committee Member

Mauromoustakos, Andronikos T.

Second Committee Member

Lee, Sun-Ok

Third Committee Member

Durand-Morat, Alvaro

Keywords

Bioavailability; Fortification; Minerals; Nutrient Intake; Parboiling; Rice; Vitamins

Abstract

Fortification of rice by parboiling is considered a potential alternative to currently available fortification technologies to produce rice with higher mineral and vitamin content significantly contributing to nutrient intake in populations with high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies. Higher nutrient retention rates and improved sensory characteristics are advantages of fortified parboiled rice compared to fortified rice obtained by currently used fortification technologies including dusting, coating, and extrusion. However, conventional parboiling processes employ excess water that presents an environmental hazard if discarded without treatment. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate a limited-water soaking method for the fortification of rice with calcium, iron, folic acid, β-carotene, and vitamin A. Excess- and limited-water soaking method were compared for fortified rice quality attributes including head rice yield and kernel color, mineral and vitamin contents, the amount of wastewater, total solids in wastewater. Limited-water parboiling utilizes only 75% of water and fortificant that is used in the excess-water parboiling process, thus reduced the amount of effluent and solids in wastewater significantly without affecting rice quality attributes. Fortification with lipophilic β-carotene and vitamin A was evaluated and optimized by comparing two different fortificant types, pure β-carotene and vitamin A dissolved in Tween® 80 and water-soluble forms of the respective vitamins. Water-soluble forms of β-carotene and vitamin A were shown to be more feasible fortificants due to higher vitamin uptake and time-efficiency. The limited-water parboiling method obtained fortified rice that contributes to about 15% of the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) of calcium, 72% (male) and 32% (female) for iron, 75% for folic acid, and 58% (male) and 45% (female) for vitamin A. Thus, limited-water parboiling is a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional excess-water parboiling for the fortification of rice with minerals and vitamins.

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