Rice-flour based bread, confectionery :

HealthyFla sets the trend

by Surekha GALAGODA

HealthyFla, the only bakery grade rice flour manufacturing company in Sri Lanka will provide bakeries the formulae to produce bread and pastries, this week.

This is being done as a pilot project in the Western province and in Kurunegala, Kandy and Anuradhapura, said the Managing Director of HealthyFla Aruna Kantha Bandara.

Today, most people suffer from gastritis, diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol and which is attributed to unhealthy food habits. Our ancestors were quite healthy as they ate rice and rice flour based food items whereas today most people prefer cleaned rice and wheat flour based products.

The busy lifestyle too never leaves room to make anything on your own and people eat bread or something made of wheat flour for convenience.

Sri Lanka spends Rs .30,000 m annually on the import of wheat flour while there is no export market for the surplus rice after the end of terrorism. But there are still patriotic people in our country such as Aruna Kantha Bandara who was keen to manufacture bakery grade flour using rice.

He was earning a six figure salary and was maintaining a good lifestyle, but his patriotism made him to venture into manufacturing bakery grade rice flour. The road to success was not a bed of roses but full of sleepless nights and worries. He said that rice flour can't be used in producing bread as it doesn't puff up since there is no gluten. Though wheat flour contains gluten it is not good for health.

At all times we maintain the highest quality and our main emphasis is on research and development.

There are over 500 rice flour manufacturers in Sri Lanka but their flour can't be used for bread-making as it is not fine. The flour used for bread should be very fine, he said.

There are no standards locally or globally for the milling process adopted to make bakery grade rice flour. Therefore, I had to purchase a machine and do the modifications to suit my requirements. He said that the machine is made in China while one model of the milling process is from Denmark and the electronics are from Taiwan.

He had done certain modifications and now it has turned out to be a 100 percent success.

By using technology we have made the milling process affordable since the electricity rate is high when making the flour fine.

The machine was modified to suit Sri Lankan rice varieties as the rice grain is thick while there are a lot of chaff in Sri Lanka's rice. Bandara has applied for a patent on the milling strategy as it is his invention.

Bandara said that they have upgraded 20 rice mills to buy quality rice but we also purchase from the Paddy Marketing Board. In the future we will focus more on the North and the East, he said. The rice flour project was initiated together with the 1000 Tanks program in 2004 but since it was highly technical there was no recognition. Again in 2007 The Patriotic National Movement(PNM) together with Mawbima Lanka Padanama discussed this project.

In 2009, I was employed at a multi-national company and saw a book written by Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. Therefore, I forwarded the proposal quoting from his book. Governor Cabraal after talking to me decided to approve the loan since the government was interested in the project to check the severe drain on foreign exchange which is spent on importing flour, give a stable income to paddy farmers and as a solution to the major health problems faced by our people.

The Bank of Ceylon on instructions from the Governor approved the loan on commercial terms. "It was a huge risk I undertook and I am now happy", said Bandara.

Any variety of rice could be used to make the bakery grade flour and the company is planning to go for a second production line in the near future, but at present we don't use the full capacity of the machine but with the demand increasing there is a huge potential. He is also planning to double the staff employed at the company. He said when a company places an order for the rice they purchase it from the farmers who have storing capacity and then mill it, make the flour and deliver it to the customer.

The method adopted by our company is the First-in-First-out method. Our storing facilities too are of high quality to ensure that we give our customers the best bakery grade flour.

The story of our success is the value we place on quality as well as on research and development. The company constantly upgrades the systems and technology to give the best quality bakery grade flour to all our customers.

At present we are doing research to reduce the coarseness of the rice flour. The process of making rice flour is environment friendly and therefore avoid waste. By using rice flour, bread and bakery products can be sold Rs. 5 less compared to wheat flour based products. Also there is a saving on corn starch as it need not be used with rice flour based bakery items. At present a kilo of imported corn starch costs Rs. 110. Bandara said that the attitude of the people has to be changed and they should be educated on the benefits of using rice flour based bakery products.

He said that he is not merely a rice flour producer but plays the role of educator and researcher as well. Every week the company selects a bakery and teaches the staff on making rice flour based bakery items.

Initially bakeries were reluctant but now they cooperate as they realise the value of rice flour. He said that together with the loan instalment he also sends a copy of the profit and loss account monthly to the Bank of Ceylon so that the officers would keep track of the progress of the company.

He said that all global giants operating in Sri Lanka purchase our rice flour to make confectionery items while all the biscuit and confectionery makers locally, buy rice flour from our company.

Bandara said that he is ready to face competition and doesn't plan to be a burden to the government or the Central Bank but is eternally grateful to the support offered by the Central Bank and Bank of Ceylon, Dr. Wasantha Bandara, Ariyaseela Wickremanayaka and all Sri Lankans employed in multi-national and local companies who supported us very much.

Especially R&D departmental officers in foreign and local companies in Sri Lanka played a major role.

Outlining future plans, he said that they plan to move to the domestic market in the future but now their main concentration is on research and development.