Storage and Nutritional Improvement of Rice Grain

Rice, the staple food in this country, provides a 60% of total caloric intake and a 30% of protein. Fortification of rice grain with lysine becomes feasible as the price of lysine declined and the techniques for the enrichment of the grain with lysine in a premix formula was developed by the author; this unique “double soaking method” eliminates the washing/cooking loss of the enrichment ingredient (s). The lysine-enriched rice is expected to make a great contribution for improving the quality of the national diet and thus to give a great impact on the nutrition welfare. An abundant crop of rice is ensuing for these several years in this country. Supplementation of a small amount of the lysine-enriched rice at the time of cooking is found to improve the palatability of the cooked product; stale flavor, the characteristic off-flavor of long-stored rice, is eliminated. Added lysine easily reacts with volatile carbonyl compounds which are responsible principles for the stale flavor, and seemingly forms non-volatile products. Under-water/-ground and sea- or lake-bed are proposed as adequate places for rice storage. Husked or brown rice packed in a laminated plastic film bag under a controlled atmosphere is found stored long in these stations. The costs of construction and maintenance of this novel storage system appear fairly low compared with those needed for the temperature-controlled storage in powered stations built on the ground; rice and other seed crops can be reserved for needs of a nation-wide scale with least deteriorative changes.