| Rice bran, a nutritious by-product of milling, is prone to hydrolytic rancidity due to active lipases. To assess the loss of quality, free fatty acids (FFA) in raw bran were measured over 48 hour period. Cultivar, farming technique, harvest year, milling conditions and degree of milling (DOM) were the factors examined for their effects on FFA of raw bran. Rice bran samples were dehulled and milled at our facility to 4%, 6%, 8%, 9% degree. Oil from rice bran was extracted by Carver press and the FFA were measured using the titration method. Cheniere and Francis, seed-grade, had higher keeping quality (48 hours) than commercial rice, Wells and Cypress (12 hours). 4% DOM had the highest FFA (4.6%). 2009 Year of harvest for Cheniere (4.41%) had a lower quality due to poor harvesting conditions. Thus, consideration of these factors can possibly extend the window period of bran shelf life. |
