Use of rice bran in breakfast cereal and baked products is probably in a state of consolidation-some products have been taken off the market while others are being developed. ARS researchers predict demand for stabilized rice bran in the food processing industry will increase once the limitations and characteristics of bran are understood.

Studies have been conducted on hamsters, chickens and humans during the past year to determine the influence of rice bran and rice brain oil on serum cholesterol levels. All these studies have shown beneficial effects and point to the lipid portion of the bran as the main source of benefit.

"Research on both human and animal subjects continues to show that rice bran has a positive impact on serum cholesterol."

A project to determine the energy transfer in a twin-screw food extruder using Calrose rice flour is nearing completion. The information gained will enable researchers to predict the screw geometry necessary to impart a given amount of energy to the product. Most of this work has focused on the preparation of expanded or puffed products suitable for the snack food industry. Recently, work has begun to produce both white and brown rice pasta on the twin screw extruder.

Progress is being made in developing a near infrared (NIR) technology as a method of predicting rice amylose content. NIR is already widely used in industry to measure other constituents of grain flours. This capability will enable the industry to predict the starch characteristics of rice for the Japanese rice market. Once an initial prediction equation is developed, the next phase of the project calls for rice samples solicited from the industry.

WRRC scientists also continue to help producers analyze flour from different types of rice and from different milling procedures. Tests have been run with the Visco Amylograph. As foreign markets expand for waxy rice flour, domestic interest in flour characteristics seems to be on the rise.