Stabilization of Vitamin A in a Synthetic Rice Premix

Abstract

Vitamin A (VA) fortification of rice for developing countries has been attempted by formulating a synthetic rice grain containing VA (called Ultraricea) to be used as a premix with ordinary rice. VA was stabilized with a combination of tocopherol, ascorbic acid and saturated lipids in the formulation. Washing stability of VA was 100%. Cooking stability was greater than 80% retention of VA. AH+ of VA degradation ranged from 4 to 34 kcal/mole depending on Aw and formulation. Entropies ranged from 11 to -79 cal/mol-deg. AG$ was unchanged averaging 29 kcal/mol. The best tm s for VA were >1 year. Successful stabilization of VA has enabled this premix to be used in clinical and pilot field fortification studies in the Philippines.

A Comparison of Retinyl Palmitate and Red Palm Oil β-Carotene as Strategies to Address Vitamin A Deficiency

“…In stability studies, 75 to 87% of retinyl palmitate content in UR was retained, depending on the cooking technique [40]. These findings were consistent with other studies demonstrating a high retention rate of retinyl palmitate in rice following boiling or heating at a low temperature [41,42,43]. After a 6 month storage period, retinyl palmitate in UR was shown to be more affected by temperature than by humidity, with an 85% retention of retinyl palmitate in UR stored at 23 °C compared to significant loses of retinyl palmitate content at temperatures over 35 °C [40].…”

“…In a study measuring the stability of retinyl palmitate-fortified corn flakes, 90% of the retinyl palmitate content was lost following 6 to 8 weeks of storage, except in samples of cereals fortified with a complete vitamin mixture and kept at room temperature [44]. The high levels of retinyl palmitate degradation were potentially attributed to the corn flakes’ large surface area and a decreased use of antioxidants such as tocopheral or BHT/BHA combinations as compared to the previous studies involving fortified rice [42,44]. Differences in retention rates of retinyl palmitate following comparable food preparation techniques have also been observed in studies involving extrusion-cooking processing, further demonstrating the effect of different food preparation techniques and the value of carefully selecting a fortification vehicle that may promote stability of retinyl palmitate [45,46].…”

Extruded rice fortified with micronized ground ferric pyrophosphate reduces iron deficiency in Indian schoolchildren: a double-blind randomized controlled trial

“…Several methods, including coating or extrusion of a grain premix, have been reported (48). Cold extrusion has been reported for the production of vitamin A-fortified rice (49,50), and PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, Seattle, WA) recently promoted the use of extruded rice grains fortified with iron (51). In the Philippines, a large-scale rice fortification program has been reported using ferrous sulfate in coated rice kernels (52).…”

The addition of nutrients to foods

“…In most developing countries there is no legislation and the practice of adding vitamin A is voluntary, requiring concerted action with partners such as grant and aid agency groups, technical agencies, the food industry and consumer groups. Vitamin A fortification of several foods for developing countries, including wheat, rice, table salt, sugar and MSG, has been worked on with various degrees of success (Bauernfiend & Arroyave, 1986;Murphy et al 1992). However, there are a number of technical and logistical problems associated with the development of suitable forticants and carrier foods (Murphy, 1995).…”