April 02, 2014

02/04/14: Evaluate Samples of Fortified Rice at FFI Booth

Rice Diversity. Part of the image collection o...
Rice Diversity. Part of the image collection of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Samples of fortified rice made via three fortification methods will be available to touch and observe at the FFI booth in the Micronutrient Forum’s exhibit area. Fortified rice will not be sold there; the uncooked rice will simply be available to evaluate for differences between it and unfortified rice.

In addition, Judith Smit, Rice Fortification Manager for the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Bureau for Asia, will be at the FFI booth Tuesday, 3 June, to discuss WFP's experiences with rice fortification. She will be there from 13:00 to 14:00 and during the afternoon break at 15:30. Staff from PATH will also be available at the FFI booth to discuss rice fortification options.

In many cultures, rice preparation includes picking out kernels that do not conform in color, shape, or texture. Consequently, for fortified rice to be effective, it needs to meet the consumers’ expectations for how rice should look, taste, and smell.

Three primary technologies are used to fortify rice with vitamins and minerals: extrusion, coating, and dusting. Extrusion involves making a dough from rice flour and nutrients then putting the dough through an extruder to make rice-shaped kernels. This can be done at various temperatures. Coating requires spraying rice with a mix of vitamins and minerals plus ingredients such as waxes and gums that help the nutrients adhere to the rice. Both coating and extrusion methods require blending fortified kernels with unfortified rice, usually at ratios between 1:50 and 1:200. Rice is sometimes fortified by dusting it with a powdery mix of vitamins and minerals. Dusting is not appropriate in cultures where rice is rinsed or cooked in water that is discarded as these steps will wash off the added nutrients.

Rice is the second most commonly consumed cereal grain in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Yet rice is not commonly fortified.

Rice fortification is considered economically feasible if the population consumes at least 100 grams per capita per day. The 25 countries with the highest amounts of rice available for human consumption, according to FAO, are listed below. These countries have a combined population of 3.4 billion, yet of these, only the Philippines has mandatory rice fortification.

More information about each type of rice fortification will be available at the FFI booth. Also, see answers to frequently asked questions about rice fortification on the FFI website.

Country  Grain Available
(grams per person per day)
 Population
(in thousands) 
Bangladesh 475                     147,030
Lao People's Democratic Republic 454                         6,112
Cambodia 439                       13,978
Viet Nam 387                       86,901
Myanmar 386                       47,601
Thailand 365                       68,706
Indonesia 349                     237,414
Philippines 338                       91,703
Guinea 290                         9,761
Madagascar 289                       20,124
Sri Lanka 284                       20,669
Guinea-Bissau 271                         1,484
Liberia 263                         3,836
Sierra Leone 253                         5,739
Guyana 224                             753
Korea, Republic of 223                       47,964
Nepal 218                       29,433
Brunei Darussalam 211                             392
Korea, Democratic People's Republic 209                       24,238
China 209                 1,342,428
Malaysia 203                       27,949
Senegal 196                       12,107
Comoros 188                             716
India 187                 1,207,740
Suriname 186                             520

Total population (in thousands)
                3,455,298

Population figures from United Nations Population Division
Grain data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations


The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

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