Characteristics Of Pregelatinized Rice Flour
Properties and Advantages of Japanese
Pregelatinized Rice Flour
Pregelatinized rice flour is flour milled from
cooked rice that has
been rapidly dried by heating.
When cooked rice is left at room
temperature, the
structure of the starch in the cooked rice
(alpha starch)
returns
to that in uncooked rice (beta starch).
Rapidly drying
cooked rice makes it possible to maintain its
excellent properties,
such as long shelf life and good digestibility
Because pregelatinized rice flour is easily digestible, it can
be used for baby food and nursing
care food for the elderly,
and it can be quickly and easily prepared for eating by simply
adding hot
or cold water. Because of its low water content and long
shelf-life,
pregelatinized rice flour is also suitable for use as an
emergency food. Furthermore, it can be used as an alternative
to various food additives such as emulsifiers and thickeners;
this has the great advantage of gaining a favorable impression
among consumer familiar
with the safety of rice flour and rice.
Pregelatinized rice flour is a gluten-free processed food.
By using pregelatinized rice flour as an alternative to thickeners
it is possible to make 100% gluten-free rice-flour bread. This can
greatly contribute to the gluten-free market whose market size is
increasing every year. Moreover, pregelatinized rice flour can meet
the requirements of the clean label materials market. Therefore,
pregelatinized rice flour is a food material with excellent advantages.
Properties of Pregelatinized Rice Flour
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Alternative to emulsifiers and thickeners
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Good digestibility
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Long shelf-life
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In making rice-flour bread, dough rises more easily when pregelatinized rice flour is used: it helps capture the gas emitted during the fermentation process to raise the uncooked rice-flour dough.
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In making cakes and desserts, pregelatinized rice flour, which acts as a natural emulsifier and thickener, can be an alternative to eggs that are added to aerate and raise the dough.
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Pregelatinized rice flour is easily digestible and therefore suitable for baby food and nursing care food for the elderly.
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Pregelatinized rice flour is suitable for export at room temperatureand for emergency food that requires long-term storage: it is unlikely to deteriorate during transportation and storage because it has been heated and has low moisture content.
Utilization of
Pregelatinized Rice Flour in Food Products
The global gluten-free market
What is meant by “gluten-free”?
Gluten-free foods are defined as food
products that contain no gluten, a protein
contained in wheat and some other grains.
Avoidance of gluten in the diet (a gluten-free
diet)
was developed in Western countries as
a treatment for patients with celiac disease,
a hereditary autoimmune disease in which
consumption of gluten causes inflammation
in the small intestinal mucosa, preventing the
absorption of nutrients. The standard for a
product to be labeled “gluten-free” is defined
as less than 20 ppm by both the FDA and the EU.
A gluten-free diet is important also for patients with a gluten allergy, i.e., a food allergy, and those with digestive symptoms of gluten intolerance caused by the lack of enzymes necessary to digest gluten.
[Market size of gluten-free food products]
The global market for gluten-free food products has been increasing and is projected to reach about 10 billion US dollars in fiscal 2024.
The clean label market
What is meant by “clean labelling”?
In a broad sense, a clean label is defined as a label on a food package that is concisely presented or whose content is clear and easy tounderstand. easy to understand.
The aim of clean labelling is to review the ingredients used in processed foods from the perspective of safety and security and to change the labelling to make it easier for consumers to understand. Although there is no international definition of a clean label, the following are requirements for clean label food products. Natural and organic may also be included in the categories of clean label food products.
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Only ingredients that are easy for consumers to understand and accept
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No chemically synthesized food additives
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No genetically modified ingredients
[Global market of clean label ingredients]※
The global market size of clean label ingredients was evaluated as about $42.2 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $66.0 billion by 2027 (average annual growth rate: over 6.6%)
※Source: Global Clean Label Ingredients Market by Type, by Form, by Application, by Brand, Regional Forecasts (2021–2027), Global Information, Inc.
This printed matter was produced by the 2021 Promotion Support Project for a New Rice Flour Labeling System and Processing Method (the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).
