Author : Gragasin, Ma. Cristina B.; Villota, Sheryll May M.; Capariño, Ofero A.; De Leon, Alma A.; Rustia, Jessica M.; Gantioque, Geraldine G.; Juvinal, Joel G.

Summary : Rice is considered as one of the staple foods of the Filipinos. With the recent consumer preference to eat healthy foods, demand for brown rice or unpolished whole grain rice is increasing because of its nutritive value. However, brown rice contains high oil content that shortens its shelf-life and making the grains rancid because of the formation of free fatty acids causing rancidity and spoilage. A suitable and cost- effective treatment to preserve the quality and extend the shelf-life of brown rice is needed to assure its steady supply both in the local and international markets. The efficacy of irradiation treatment in extending the shelf life of brown rice was investigated in the present study in terms of its sensory qualities. Low amylose rice cultivars from two weeks and eight weeks old SL7 and RC160 packed in polyethylene and super bags exposed to radiation treatments of 0.5 kGy and 1.0 kGy were used as experimental samples. Overall, the acceptability of brown rice was affected by the following: (1) age of paddy from where it was produced wherein the two - week old paddy was more preferred, (2) irradiation dose in combination with packaging – irradiated brown rice at a dose of 0.5kGy packed in polyethylene was more preferred. Addressing the short shelf-life of brown rice will increase its availability and utilization, thus, it will contribute to the staples sufficiency program of the Department of Agriculture wherein brown rice consumption has been identified as one of the mechanism.