The Basics of Rice Bran

Rice bran is one of the most underutilized food sources in the world. Rice has been grown for over 5000 years; but traditionally, the bran and germ have been removed for two reasons. Generally, people prefer the taste of white rice to brown rice and without some sort of processing or par-boiling, brown rice has a shorter shelf life than white rice. Rice bran and germ are full of nutrition. The challenge has been to find a cost-effective method to process the bran that also preserves the nutritive value and improves the shelf life.

Mother Nature's job is to cause the germ to "sprout" to produce more plants. This same interaction between enzymes and oils that causes the plant to germinate creates problems after the grain has been harvested and milled. All grains (wheat, oat, barley, etc.) go through the same process. The enzymes that cause germination must be neutralized in order to preserve the bran and germ.

Enter NutraCea with its proprietary processing technology. Our processing equipment applies the optimal combination of environmental factors —pressure, water and heat —and counteracts nature's effect to preserve the bran and germ. The result is a good-tasting and versatile product —rice bran —with many different applications in the marketplace. To further add value, the rice bran can be divided into the water-dispersible fraction, RiSolubles™, and the fiber fraction, RiFiber™. The derivative products have unique characteristics and industry applications.