Rice based bread produced successfully

by L.S. Ananda Wedaarachchi

A loaf of rice based bread consisting of seventy percent rice flour and thirty percent wheat flour and other ingredients has been successfully produced after a series of experiments, said Senior Lecturer in Food Processing, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Peradeniya, Dr. Rohitha Prashanta.

Ingredients such as nutritious value and immunity against non-communicable disease will be the criteria to produce rice based bread, Dr. Prashanta said.

It is time for the government to declare its policy on rice flour based food production, he said.

Dr. Prashanta who had conducted research on food science for his PhD at Humbotdd - Berlin University, Germany said that the production of rice flour based bread and other food items largely depend on the regular supply of quality rice flour to the domestic market.

Sri Lanka imports more than 864,000 Mts of wheat flour worth over Rs. 14,200 million annually, he said. Of the total wheat flour imports 50 percent is used for bread and other bakery products, Dr. Prashanta said.