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Solvent Extractors' Association of India plans to maximise rice bran oil production to 14 lakh tonnes
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Saturday, 05 May, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEAI) is now working out methodologies to maximise India's potential to produce 14 lakh tonnes of rice bran oil (RBO) from the current production of 9 lakh tonnes.
"Among the key approaches being viewed by the SEAI is to update the existing outdated oil mills in the country and create a massive public awareness to increase the consumption of RBO, which is known for its health benefits," Dr B V Mehta, executive director, SEAI, told F&B News in a telecon.
"The country's current rice brain oil production is by far the highest compared to other rice-producing countries, such as Japan (which produces 80,000 tonnes of RBO); Thailand (50,000 tonnes); China (30,000 tonnes) and South Korea (10,000 tonnes); followed by Vietnam; Pakistan and Uruguay. Although China is the largest rice producer in the world and India ranks second, in terms of RBO production we are way ahead," he added.
RBO is a vegetable oil produced from the outer brown layer of rice which is removed in the form of rice bran during polishing process of the rice milling industry. It is estimated that around 2 lakh tonnes of refined RBO is used for direct human consumption; and the rest is used for blending, bulk frying and vanaspati. RBO is an edible oil with naturally-balanced fat composition quite close to the latest recommendations by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). It has a good balance of monosaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats. It is high in natural antioxidants and contains no trans-fats.
"Despite the obsolete oil mills located in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the country largely has the best RBO production technology adopting the chemical processing and physical refining process. While the chemical refining of crude rice bran oil yields better product in terms of colour, there is loss of nutraceutical and micronutrients. In the case of physical refining, the micronutrients are retained," pointed out Dr Mehta.
The consumption of rice brain oil helps control cholesterol, and there are also far higher health benefits in an age where lifestyle disorders are on the rise. The increasing understanding on the benefits of RBO has led PepsiCo's Frito-Lays to use the same for frying many of its snack brands.
"There are a number of cooking oil brands such as Rice Gold (refined Rice Bran Oil by Sethia Industries); Dhara [by the Vadodara-based Dhara Vegetable Oil & Foods Company (DOFCO), a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)]; Sundrop (by ITC), and Saffola (by The Bombay Oil Industries), in addition to number of small and medium local players, which have already geared up to highlight the health benefits of RBO," he stated.
"Over 15 years ago, it was the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad which developed the physical refining process of RBO. Now the need of the hour is to augment the consumption and create awareness about the health benefits of RBO so that its gets its well-deserved attention in the Indian kitchens in the coming years," pointed out Dr Mehta.
The investment required to set up a rice mill with a production capacity of 200 tonnes per day is estimated to be Rs 10 crore and the cost of refining equipment is Rs 5 crore.
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