Soft textured rice is the major source of calories in the diet of most South East (SE) Asian countries. However, it is most often consumed after polishing which removes the bran and embryo and hence most of the vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre (DF) are lost. Consequently, white rice comprises over 90% starch with only trace amounts of DF and is rapidly digested in the human gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a high glycaemic index (GI). The excessive consumption of high GI foods is associated with increased risks of a range of chronic diseases including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and some types of cancer. Furthermore, the incidence of these conditions is dramatically increasing in areas where white rice is the staple food, notably Asia, with the prevalence of diabetes in SE Asia alone predicted to reach 120 million by 2030. It is therefore necessary to develop rice lines in which high energy content is combined with low GI. This may be achieved by combining acceptable levels of resistant starch (RS) with an increased content of the cell wall deriveddietary fibre components.

The effect of chili pepper leaves (CPL) on the sensory characteristics, microbial load, consumer acceptability, and nutritional quality of salt bread was evaluated. Crushed and powdered CPLs were used in salt bread at different substitution levels: 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4% (wt/wt flour). All sensory attributes of salt breads with 0.5% crushed CPL (CCPL) or powdered CPL (PCPL) were comparable with the control. The consumer acceptability for 0.5% CCPL and PCPL were 97 and 93%, respectively. The use of 0.5% CPL in salt bread boosted the β-carotene content from <1 µg/100 g to up to 238 µg/100 g and significantly increased the folate and iron levels. Water activity values were comparable with the control and microbial counts of the enriched products were within acceptable limits. Results showed that CPL can be incorporated in salt bread as a means to improve iron, vitamin A, and folate nutrition in areas where micronutrient malnutrition is prevalent.Keywords: β-carotene, bread, chili pepper leaves, folate, iron, sensory evaluation IntroductionIron, vitamin A, and folate are among the micronutrients deficient in the diet of many people in developing countries. In the Philippines, iron and vitamin A deficiencies remain as public health problems (FNRI, 2013) among children and women (pregnant and lactating). Folate deficiency, which is associated with birth defects, colorectal cancer, and lifelong physical and intellectual disabilities, is also an emerging concern (deVogel et al., 2008;Fujimori et al., 2011). Green leafy vegetables are very rich in essential micronutrients such as vitamin A (in the form of β-carotene), folate, and iron (Ng et al., 2012;Gupta and Prakash, 2011). shown to effectively enhance its nutrient profile (ii, iv, vi).The use of chili pepper leaves as an inexpensive ingredient to boost the nutritional quality of salt bread was therefore investigated. The effects of crushed and powdered form of chili pepper leaves on the salt bread in terms of quality, sensory characteristics, and consumer acceptability were assessed. The samples were cooled and packed in polyethylene bags and kept at ambient temperature until analyzed. Materials and Methods Sample collection Screening of best formulationThe best formulation was determined using laboratory panel consisting of 14 staff from Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) as evaluators. Prior to the actual evaluation, product lexicon was developed, wherein sensory attributes for salt bread were identified and agreed upon by the same set of panelists (Meilgaard et al., 2007). Salt bread was randomly selected and coded with three-digit random numbers.One whole piece (60 _ 64 mm width x 34 _ 40 mm height) of coded salt bread of each treatment was presented to each sensory panelist one at a time. The attributes evaluated by the panelists were green color, aroma and taste (0=none; 15=very intense), surface texture appearance (0=smooth; 15=very rough), after-taste (0=none; 15= very perceptible), mouthfeel/texture (0=smooth; 15=very grainy), denseness ...

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Processing adds value to agricultural products, making them more nutritious and economically competitive. Brown rice, by its unremoved bran, contains substantial amounts of protein, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins; while buffalo's milk has higher protein and calcium and lower cholesterol than other dairy milks. These were suitable ingredients to develop healthy and nutritious value-added product. An ice cream sandwich was developed using brown rice flour (BRF) substituted at 0, 40, 50 and 60% (wt/wt), and fresh buffalo's milk. Acceptability of the product was determined through a consumer survey (n5100; 15 to 30 y old). Consumer sensory evaluation showed that cracker substituted with 50% BRF complemented with buffalo's milk-based ice cream produced an acceptable ice cream sandwich. This resulted in a brown rice cracker ice cream sandwich (BRICS) that has 164 kcal, 8 g fat, 5.7 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates and key minerals. Product testing revealed that taste, mouthfeel, and aroma were the top attributes considered by respondents in buying ice cream products, and BRICS achieved high acceptability rating in these attributes. BRICS obtained an overall acceptability rating of 8.9 in a 9-point hedonic scale. Eighty eight percent (88%) of the respodents were willing to buy BRICS at PhP15-20. Therefore, BRICS is a convenient, nutritious, and marketable value-added product made from BRF and buffalo's milk.