Rice Bran: An Invaluable By-Product
Other than China & India, top countries in the world producing rice are Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. The most important by-product of rice is rice bran because it is a valuable feed ingredient for all classes of livestock, including dairy, as it contains 15-18% protein, 14-18% oil and 30-40% digestible carbohydrates. In this blog we will explore some of the benefits of stabilized rice bran.
Rice bran that has been stabilized by extrusion is a quality source of amino acids in protein and stabilized rice bran oil is an excellent energy source. The actual feeding value is determined largely by the levels of these important macronutrients, so it’s important to analyze stabilized rice bran to know its nutrient composition. The rice bran composition will differ because rice polishing (which takes off the bran) is not the same everywhere. As indicated here, these values somewhat will vary.
During the rice milling process, the enzyme in the rice bran is activated which causes a rapid degradation of oil in the rice bran into free fatty acids and glycerin. This affects the shelf life & stability of rice bran as it becomes rancid. Insta-Pro technology will stabilize rice bran and prolong shelf life. Immediately after milling process rice bran must be extruded at the appropriate temperature. The high shear dry extrusion process has been proven to inactivate the enzymes thus preventing rancidity.
The operational process flow for rice bran extrusion is simple: material intake, fresh rice bran, immediately after milling process – Extrusion – Cooling – Bagging. From our experience in the field, rice bran can be an extremely attractive ingredient for feed formulators due to its low cost. The price, of course, fluctuates during the year; however, there are periods of times, specific to each area, when rice bran can be obtained very inexpensively.
There are a variety of processing solutions available; for more information on this, please contact your sales representative.
