Rice Bran continues to find favor with major food companies. Pictured here is a display from last fall's rice field day.

Further work with hamsters confirms the cholesterol-lowering properties of rice bran and indicates that the compound responsible for this phenomenon is in the oil fraction. Serum cholesterol decreased in chicks fed a diet containing stabilized rice bran.

ARS researchers are working with the major rice mills in California, and some of the major rice companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi to help develop domestic and export markets for rice bran. Their activities have included installation of stabilizers, analytical work, food product development, nutritional characteristics and public relations activities with the food industry.

Most of the stabilized bran is being incorporated into domestic foodstuffs. It is expected that it will increase dramatically, as large food companies such as Quaker, Kellogg's and Ralston-Purina are gearing up to begin heavy advertising of their new rice bran products.

Quality assessment

Considerable progress has been made in the development of a technique to measure the amylose content of milled white rice. The researchers hope the industry will be able to use a Near Infrared-Reflectance Spectrometer (NIR) to predict with certainty the starch characteristics of rice for the growing Japanese rice flour market.