International Journal of Food and Nutritional Science Int J Food Nutr Sci | Volume 4: Issue 1 Copyrights: © 2017 Malahayati, N. This is an Open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Research Article Open Access Nura Malahayati 1* , Kharidah Muhammad 2 , Jamilah Bakar 3 , Roselina Karim 3 Abstract Rice noodle, a widely consumed rice product in Southeast Asia, is potentially carrier for fortifcation with vitamin A, folic acid and iron. However, processing meth- od is one of the main factors that may afect the quality of fortifed rice noodle and retention of fortifed micronutrients or fortifcants in the noodle. The aims of this study were to examine chemical properties, quality, microstructure and sensory characteris- tics of fortifed rice noodle which was prepared by two diferent processing methods, boiling and steaming. The retention of vitamin A, folic acid and iron at each stage of rice noodle processing was also investigated. Steaming enhanced the chemical prop- erties, quality, microstructure and panelists preferences of rice noodle. The patterns of vitamin A, folic acid and iron retentions in rice noodle prepared by the two diferent processing methods were very similar at each stages of processing. However, vitamin A, folic acid and iron retentions at each stage of processing were signifcantly higher (p < 0.05) in rice noodle prepared by steaming than those in rice noodle prepared by boiling. Boiling retained 16.12% vitamin A, 35.08% folic acid and 86.46% iron while steaming retained 23.51% vitamin A, 48.75% folic acid and 99.34% iron. * Corresponding author: Nura Malahayati, Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sriwijaya University, 30662 Ogan Ilir, South Sumatera, Indonesia, Tel: +62815-3837945; Fax: +62711-580664; E-mail: nura_malahayati@yahoo.com Received Date: December 20, 2016 Accepted Date: March 23, 2017 Published Date: March 27, 2017 Keywords: Fortifcant retention; Processing method; Quality; Rice noodle Introduction Despite its wide consumption by the world population, polished rice is proven to be related to micronutrient defcien- cy among people in rice consuming countries, particularly vi- tamin A, folic acid, and iron defciencies. Children and women of childbearing age are the most vulnerable segment to these micronutrient defciencies. Adequate intake and availability of these dietary essential vitamins and minerals are closely related to the survival, physical and mental development, and the over- all well-being of individuals. Food fortifcation is one of the strategies to combat micronutrient defciencies. This strategy is technologically and economically efective for increasing micronutrient intakes in human population [1] and it is the most practical and long-term approach [2] . Multiple fortifcation of several types of food in- The Efect of Processing Method on Fortifed Rice Noodle Quality and Fortifcant Retention 1 Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sriwijaya University, Indonesia 2 UPM-BERNAS Research Laboratory, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia 3 Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia DOI: 10.15436/2377-0619.17.1279 Citation: Malahayati, N., et al. The Ef- fect of Processing Method on Fortifed Rice Noodle Quality and Fortifcant Re- tention. (2017) Int J Food Nutr Sci 4(2): 30- 37. Malahayati, N., et al. cluding beverages [3] , salt [4] , Ultra rice ®[5] , and whole wheat four [6] are gaining popularity to overcome micronutrient malnutrition in developing countries. In addition, the food consumed by most population segments, ideally, should be chosen as a vehicle. Fortifying rice or rice products with defcient micro- nutrients is one of the strategies to overcome the defciencies. Rice noodle, made from rice four, is the main processed food product widely consumed in Southeast Asia. Rice noodle may be sold as a fresh product or they may be dried prior to packaging. Consumption of rice noodle fortifed with multiple fortifcants (vitamin A, folic acid and iron) may contribute in reducing the micronutrient defciencies in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. In order to make any fortifcation program a success, it is important to monitor physicochemical changes that take place in the food vehicle and the end product as a result of fortifca- 30