Acceptance of iron fortified rice (I-Rice) to combat Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA)

• Published in: Procedia food science 2011, Vol.1, p.1316-1323
• Main Authors: Juan, Edith M. San, Camitan, Neri O., Natividad, Amelita C., Gochangco, Mario U., Alkuino, Lauro D., Cariso, Alberto R., Lustre, Alicia O., Tejada, Amelia W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: home-use test; iron deficiency anemia; Iron fortified rice
• ISSN: 2211-601X; 2211-601X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.profoo.2011.09.195

Rice is the basic staple food in the Philippines and as such can be a valuable vehicle for alleviating iron deficiency anemia (IDA), a deficiency which occurs when the dietary intake of iron is insufficient. Iron fortification of rice is vital to compensate for the inadequacies of this micronutrient in Filipino diets as mandated by Republic Act No. 8976 entitled “An Act Establishing the Philippine Food Fortification Program and for Other Purposes”, implemented on November 7, 2004, by the National Food Authority (NFA). Rice was fortified by mixing the regular milled rice with iron rice premix (I-Mix is iron-coated rice containing 1300mg iron per 100 grams) at a ratio of 1:250 consisting of one part I-Mix to 250 parts regular milled rice. This ratio resulted in an iron fortified rice (I-Rice) containing 1-2mg iron per 100 grams when cooked. Acceptance of odor, color, flavor and overall quality of I-Rice was evaluated using the home-use test (HUT) protocol in five (5) public elementary schools in the Philippines. A total of 2,442 qualified respondents participated in the survey. The acceptance ratings of I-Rice ranged from 6.9 to 7.4 and was described as “like moderately” using the Hedonic scale. Non-parametric test revealed that no significant differences existed among the acceptance ratings except for odor. Spearman correlation showed that age, educational attainment, amount of rice consumption and willingness to buy I-Rice had significant relationship to its acceptance. A significant difference existed between gender and overall liking of I-Rice using Mann-Whitney (Wilcoxon) Test. Above findings showed that public awareness about the program can influence acceptance of I-Rice, and deficiency in micronutrients particularly iron can be addressed through food innovation. The information on consumer acceptance of I-Rice can be used as basis for evaluating government policies and directions for iron fortification of rice.