DisplayTitle

Rice is the staple food of more than three billion people worldwide; hence, it is a valuable vehicle for nutrition improvement through micronutrient fortification. This work investigated the effect of parboiling on the simultaneous fortification of rice with iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) using rough rice and brown rice as feedstocks. Ferrous sulfate and zinc sulfate were the sources of Fe and Zn, respectively. EDTA was added as an absorption enhancer at a fixed EDTA:Fe molar ratio of 1:1. Three fortificant concentrations (0, 100, and 200 mg/L for both Fe and Zn) were tested and two long-grain rice cultivars (CLXL745 and RoyJ) were used as test samples. Parboiling was accomplished by soaking rough rice or brown rice in the fortificant solution (1:2 ratio) at 70°C for 3 h, followed by autoclave-steaming at 115°C for 10 min, and then gentle drying to a constant weight at 26°C and 65% relative humidity. When rough rice was used as the parboiling feedstock, the Fe content of milled parboiled rice was 7.0-16.7 mg/kg for CLXL745 and 7.2-15.0 mg/kg for RoyJ. The Zn content of these lots was 21.7-32.9 mg/kg for CLXL745 and 22.0-35.0 mg/kg for RoyJ. With brown rice as the feedstock, the Fe and Zn content of milled parboiled rice from CLXL745 were 33.1-87.9 mg/kg and 46.2-72.1 mg/kg, respectively; that from RoyJ were 32.6-73.8 mg/kg and 48.2-88.4 mg/kg, respectively. Differences in head rice yield, color, and pasting characteristics were mainly attributed to cultivar and feedstock, and not fortificant concentration. Results indicated that brown rice is a better feedstock than rough rice for micronutrient fortification via parboiling.