Fortification means the addition to food of nutrients in such amounts that their final levels in the food are greater than those that were naturally present. Some of common foods which are present fortified with iron are commercial infant formulas, infant cereals and breakfast cereals.
Wheat is the cereal flour that so fortified most often but several countries particularly in Central and South America - also have programs for iron fortification of maize flour.
Iron has a complex chemistry as well as metabolism and reactions are dependent upon pH, potential oxidation, competition for other minerals, and presence of food components that can block or enhance its absorption.
Cereals are the most widely used vehicles for iron fortification although many others, such as milks products, sugar, curry powder, soya sauce and cookies have been successfully used.
Elemental iron or iron salts may be added to RTE cereals by mixing the source of iron with the cereal ingredients before cooking. In some cereal systems, the iron can be added to the cooked cereal dough or mash before extrusion and cutting of the cooked dough into pellets.
Iron fortification in cereal
The word cereal is derived from ceres, the Roman Goddess of grain. The common cereal crops are rice, wheat, corn, oats and rye. The term cereal is not limited to these but also flours, meals, breads and alimentary pastes or pasta. Cereal science is a study concerned with all technical aspects of cereal. It is the study the nature of the cereals and the changes that occurs naturally and as a result of handling and processing.
Monday, April 24, 2017
The Most Popular Posts
-
Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States where corn has, since the 1850s, has been the predominant crop, replacing the native t...
-
Rolled Oats – The History The early history of cultivated oats is not clear. For centuries oats were considered to be a weed in barley and...
-
Spelt is an ancient cereal grain that is a subspecies of wheat. It native to southern Europe has been widely grown in Europe. It was cultiv...
-
Expansion is caused by a sudden disequilibrium between the product and the atmosphere which causes rapid steam generation within the product...
-
Kernel is the seed from which the wheat plant grows., Each tiny seed contain three distinct parts that are separated during the milling proc...