Nutritional content and storage stability of stabilised rice bran- MR220

The nutritional composition of rice bran at 4% and 8% milling degree was stabilised by either autoclaving or parboiling process. The rice bran was autoclaved with commercial retort at 120°C for 20 min. For the production of parboiled rice bran, the harvested paddy was soaked for 2 h, steamed for 20 min then dried and milled. The values of fat, fibre, ash, most minerals and vitamins in parboiled bran were generally higher than treatment by autoclave technique. The free fatty acid levels for both parboiled and autoclaved rice bran were below the 10% permissible level for 4 months and 6 months respectively for the product packed in oriented polypropylene/polypropylene packs, either vacuumed or without, and stored in ambient temperature room condition. The storage of rice bran by polypropylene packs, as control packaging material, led to rapid production of free fatty acids. These findings indicate that rice bran can be stored without risk of deterioration for a substantial time prior being used for the production of many health-related food products.