Cereal Chem 50:745 - 749.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Availability of Iron in Enriched Soda Crackers.

G. S. Ranhotra, R. J. Loewe, and L. V. Puyat. Copyright 1973 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The availability of iron in soda crackers enriched with ferrous sulfate and reduced iron was tested in hemoglobin-depleted rats. Availability assessments were based on the extent of repletion of hemoglobin in response to test diets fed for 15 days. All test diets contained 20 p.p.m. of iron furnished by enriched crackers or bread crumbs. While rats on the control diet (unenriched crackers; iron, 7 p.p.m.) continued to become progressively more anemic during the repletion period, those fed test diets gradually recovered. Hemoglobin recovery was most rapid in rats fed ferrous sulfate and less than half as rapid in those fed reduced iron. No differences were observed in iron availabilities between enriched breads and crackers. Exclusion of soda in cracker-making or its addition to cracker crumbs, or the addition of iron to cracker crumbs instead of to the flour used, had no appreciable effect on iron availability. Compared to bread, the process of cracker-making increased the pH appreciably and reduced the solubility of iron under simulated gastric conditions, but the availability of the iron remained unaffected.