Evaluation of the effect of Ultra Rice^®EDTA supplementation on the soluble iron, visual acceptance and vitamin A stability of commercial milled rice blends

Abstract

The addition of NaFeEDTA at only 5% of total iron to ferric pyrophosphate-fortified Ultra Rice Ò increased the in vitro soluble iron ten-fold. Ultra Rice Ò formulated with NaFeEDTA at 2-7% of total iron, or with Na 2 EDTAÁ2H 2 O at 0.59 the total iron equivalents, increased the soluble iron seven-to thirty-fold. The colour of the batches was acceptable through 20 weeks at 21°C, but colour stability needs to be evaluated under authentic storage conditions. Although only 34-46% of the initial vitamin A remained after extrusion, 18-week storage at 30°C/70% relative humidity, and simulated cooking, there were indications that losses could be decreased by raising the pH (to~5) and/or using a better protected vitamin A ingredient. The enhancement of soluble iron afforded by low-level NaFeEDTA or Na 2 ED-TAÁ2H 2 O supplementation suggests that this fortification strategy may merit further study as a means of increasing absorbable iron in Ultra Rice Ò .

Research on Natural Resources: The Quest for Integration Revisited

“…A negative interaction between iron and zinc after absorption, at the extracellular or intracellular level, is also possible but unlikely at the amounts consumed in this study (13). In contrast to our in vivo results, our data from the experiments comparing in vitro iron solubility of 57 FePP+ZnO and 57 FePP+ZnSO 4 do not support our hypothesis that ZnO would decrease iron solubility from FePP to a greater extent than ZnSO 4 . Iron solubility from 57 FePP+ZnSO 4 was lower than from 57 FePP-Zn, whereas iron solubility from 57 FePP+ZnO was not significantly different from 57 FePP-Zn.…”

“…This study is the first, to our knowledge, to investigate iron absorption from iron-fortified rice when cofortified with 2 commonly used zinc fortificants, ZnO and ZnSO 4 . Because fortified rice is typically produced by using a kernel-premix approach, in which only a small fraction of the kernels (1:100 or 1:200) is fortified with high nutrient concentrations (4), interactions between nutrients, such as iron and zinc, may be more pronounced than other fortification approaches in which no kernel-premix is used.…”

“…6 Abbreviations used: AA, ascorbic acid; CA, citric acid; CRP, C-reactive protein; DMT1, dimetal transporter 1; FePP, ferric pyrophosphate; PA, phytic acid; PF, plasma ferritin; RBV, relative bioavailability; TSC, trisodium citrate; 57 FePP, isotopically labelled ferric pyrophosphate; 57 FePP-Zn, rice extruded with 57 FePP, a vitamin premix, and citric acid; 57 FePP+ZnO, rice extruded with 57 FePP, ZnO, a vitamin premix, and citric acid; in rice meals is reported to be even lower, only 15-24% (3). To increase the low iron bioavailability of FePP in rice, ligands acting as solubilizing agents have been suggested, such as citric acid (CA) (4) or EDTA, which has been used in large-scale ricefortification efforts (5,6).…”

“…The premix kernel is fortified at high nutrient amounts, which results in local nutrient concentrations 100 times higher than the fortification concentration applied to other cereals. It is possible that the high iron and zinc concentrations in the fortified kernel may influence their solubility, which could result in an interaction during digestion and absorption (4,17). Potential interactions between iron and zinc are more likely in the extruded rice kernel-premix approach than in other fortified foods (e.g., wheat, maize).…”

Micronutrient-fortified rice can be a significant source of dietary bioavailable iron in schoolchildren from rural Ghana

“…Sodium pyrophosphate (NaPP) has been suggested to enhance iron bioavailability from FePP in bouillon cubes ( 18 ), and its suitability for rice fortification has not been investigated. Furthermore, the addition of EDTA was reported to increase in vitro solubility of FePP from fortified rice ( 19 ).…”