Fortification of parboiled rice with folic acid: Consumer acceptance and sensory evaluation

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Folic acid fortification through parboiling of rice significantly increases folic acid content in both uncooked and cooked milled grains. However, parboiling concurrently changes the characteristics of rice which may alter consumers' acceptance of this fortified rice. Two consumer acceptance studies based on visual and taste attributes were therefore conducted with a predominantly Asian consumer sample to investigate this issue.In STUDY 1, Visual Consumer Acceptance of Uncooked Fortified Parboiled Rice (UF 1, UF 2 and UF 3) was examined. The visual acceptability of three uncooked fortified parboiled rice samples were compared to a commercial parboiled rice control. Color intensity of rice did not affect consumers' liking of color. An informed health claim on the fortified rice enhanced the consumers' purchase intent which suggested that they welcomed the fortified product. Food familiarity (i.e. familiarity with parboiled rice) improved consumers' purchase intent suggesting a higher chance of acceptance in the parboiled-rice-consuming countries.In STUDY 2, uncooked fortified parboiled rice was mixed with unfortified commercial white rice and subjected to cooking. Consumer Acceptance of Cooked Fortified Rice after Mixing (CFM 1, CFM 2 and CRM 3) was studied. The sensory acceptability of the three CFM was compared to the same commercial white rice. No significant difference was noted in the liking of attributes between the CFM and white rice control. More than 50% of the consumers were willing to purchase the CFM. Their purchase intent increased after the consumers were notified of the additional health benefits from the rice. This indicated the acceptance of the diluted fortified rice with the Asian consumer sample, and thus possible use of this fortified product in parboiled-rice consuming countries in order to address the prevalence of folic acid deficiency.