Breakfast Cereals-An Overview

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Breakfast Cereals
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An Overview
12
Breakfast Cereals–
An Overview
Jagbir Rehal, Savita Sharma and HPS Nagi
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction............................................................................................127
2.0 Categories of Breakfast Cereals...............................................................128
2.1 Traditional......................................................................................128
2.2 Ready-to-Eat Cereals.......................................................................132
3.0 Fortification of the Breakfast Cereals......................................................143
4.0 Suggested Readings...............................................................................146
1.0 Introduction
Breakfast means to “break the fast” after the body has been without food for about
12 hours. Breakfast has been cited as one of the most important meals of the day by
the nutritionists. New research by the American Dietetic Association 2006 supports
the notion that eating breakfast is associated with maintaining a healthy body mass
index and adequate nutrient intake. Eating a breakfast includes cereal which is
probably beneficial for two reasons. “First, cereal is a low fat food that provides
healthy nutrients and energy, said William Rice MD, Chief Medical Officer of my
DNA.com. Second, he continued, “Consuming a good breakfast decreases the
consumption of less healthy food choices through the morning”. Dietary
recommendation suggests that the intake of dietary fat and cholesterol should
decrease and the calorie intake from complex carbohydrate should increase, breakfast
cereals are in-line with these recommendations. It has been reported that among
children of ages 5-12, those who ate ready-to-eat breakfast cereals three or more
times a week consumed less fat and cholesterol, but more fibre, B-vitamins and
vitamin A and D than those who ate no breakfast cereals. Puffed, flaked, shredded or
extruded corn, wheat, rice, oats or other grains which may be coated with sugars,
enriched with micronutrients or enhanced with fruits are commonly called breakfast
Breakfast Cereals
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An Overview, Jagbir Rehal, Savita Sharma and HPS Nagi
Jagmander Book Agency, New Delhi.

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Food Processing and Preservation
cereals. Consumer data from BMRB International Ltd. Target Group Index (TGI)
survey confirm that cold breakfast cereals remain a family favourite. In 2006, 86%
of adults had eaten cold breakfast cereals over the past 12 months. Hot cereals
recorded much lower level than cold cereals at 49.4% of adults. Ready - to - eat breakfast
cereals are served in nine out of 10 households and the proportion of cereals / grains
used in the Ready - to - serve breakfast a seals is shown in Fig 1.
The global breakfast cereals market grew by 5.2% in 2006 to reach a value of
$27.7 billion. In 2011, the market is forecast to have a value of $38.1 billion, an
increase of 37.5% since 2006. The production of breakfast cereals is on a continuous
rise.
Fig. 1 Ready - to - serve category
Breakfast cereals can be categorized into (1) traditional (hot) cereals that require
further cooking or heating before consumption and (2) ready-to-eat (cold) cereals
that can be consumed from the box or with the addition of milk.
The most important raw material in any breakfast cereal is grain. The most
commonly used grains are corn, wheat, oats, rice and barley. Some hot cereals, such
as plain oat meal, and a few cold cereals such as plain shredded wheat, contains no
other ingredients. Most breakfast cereals contain other ingredients, such as salt,
yeast, sweeteners, flavouring agents, colouring agents, vitamins, minerals and
preservatives.
2.0 Categories of Breakfast Cereals
2.1 Traditional
These cereals are those requiring cooking or heating prior to consumption and are
Wheat
25%
Rice
9%
Mix ed g rai ns other
gra ins
29%
Oat
18%
Corn
19%

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made from oats (rolled oats), wheat (farina, instant farina), corn (grits) and rice.
Almost all (99%) of the traditional cereal in market are products made from oats
(over 81%) and farina (approximately 18%). Cereals made from rice, corn (excluding
corn grits) are wheat (other than farina) make up less than 1 per cent of traditional
cereals. The major steps for the processing of hot cereals is the reduction of particle
size of grain and elimination of fibrous substances from raw material.
2.1.1 Oat cereals
The three types of oat cereals are:
•Old fashioned oat meal (rolled oat grits)
•Quick oat meal and
•Instant oat meal
Old Fashioned Oat Meal : It is made of rolled oats groats (dehulled oat
kernels) and is prepared by adding water
and boiling for 30 minutes. For the
manufacture of rolled oats, the grains are
cleaned of dust, stems, weed seeds etc. The
cleaning process utilizes several devices to
take advantage of particular physical
properties of grains (Fig. 2). This reduces
the moisture to about 6% and partially
dextrinizes the starch and also inactivates
enzymes, particularly the lipase as oats are
high in lipid and very susceptible to
rancidity. Drying the hulls makes them
more brittle and therefore, easier to
remove. The hulling process use the impact
huller, which separates the hull from the
groat by impact rather than traditional
stone hulling. The groat is the portion of the oats that remains after the hull has
been removed and is the part processed for human consumption. In impact hulling,
the oats are fed through a rotating disc and fling out to strike the wall of the cylindrical
housing tangentially, which separates the hull from the groat. Impact hulling does
not require pre - drying of the oats, although some facilities still use the traditional
dry-pan process to impart a more nutty and less raw or green flavour to the final
product. The mixed material than falls to the bottom of the huller and is subjected
to aspiration to separate the hull from the groats and the whole oats that were not
dehulled in the process. It is difficult to make a clean separation of groats from
whole oats. Even a small percentage of whole oats remaining with the groats is
unacceptable as hulls in rolled oats are not palatable. The groats are then, sized to
separate the largest groats from the average sized groats. The large groats are used
to make the old fashioned oat and are then, passed through an atmospheric steamer
located above the rollers. The groats must remain in contact with the live steam long
enough to achieve a moisture content increase from 8 to 10 per cent upto 10 to 12 per cent,
which is sufficient to provide satisfactory flakes when the whole groats are rolled.
Plate 1 Physical appearance of oats

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Grain receiving
i
Cleaning
i
Roasting (100oC, 1 hr)
(Moisture content reduced to 6%
Partial dextrinization of starch
Hulls become fragile)
i
Cooling
i
Hulling
(Stone mill, Entoleter)
i
Size separation
i
Steaming
(Inactivates enzymes and increases moisture content)
i
Flaking
i
Packaging
Fig. 2 Flow diagram for traditional oat cereal production
Quick Oat Meal: The production process of quick oat meal (Plate 2) and old
fashioned oat is the same except for the starting material – old fashioned oats start
with whole groats and quick oats start with steel cut groats. The groats are cut
using steel cutters to make quick oats. Both products (whole groats and steel cut
groats) are rolled between two cast iron equal speed rolls in rigid end frames. The
flakes are then cooled and directed to packaging bins for holding. The cooking time
(i.e. the time required for the hot water to penetrate the centre of the flake) is
determined by the thickness of the flake. To obtain rolled oats that cook more quickly,
one must produce a thinner flake. Quick oat products are rolled thinner than old
fashioned oats (0.02-0.03 inches) and are prepared by cooking for 1-15 minutes.
Instant Oat Meal : Instant oat meal (Plate 3) is processed similarly to quick
oat meal through the steaming stage (Fig. 3). They are rolled thinner than those of
quick oat meal (0.011-0.013 inches). The most important difference between instant
oat meal and other oat meal products is the addition of hydrocolloid gum, which
replaces the natural oat gums that would be leached from the flakes during traditional
cooking, thus accelerating the hydration of flakes; hot water is added but no other
cooking is required.

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Pre steamed flaked oats
i
Flaked oats moisture content 18.5%
i
Tempering
i
Extruder cooking (90oC and 90 psi)
i
Pellets (0.1 g)
i
Flakin
i
Drying (moisture content 7%)
Fig. 3 Flow diagram for producing instant oats
2.1.2 Wheat Cereals
Breakfast cereals from wheat are made from
farina which is a fraction of middling from a
hard wheat. Farina is essentially wheat
endosperm in granular form that is free from
bran and germ. The preferred wheat for
producing farina is hard red or winter wheat as
granules of endosperm of soft wheat tends to
give a product that becomes mushy after
cooking. The critical factor in consumer
acceptance of farina is the particle size. 100% of
the product must pass a No. 20 sieve (833 mm)
and not more than 100% must pass a No. 45
sieve (350 mm). The quick cook farina cereals
are prepared primarily by the addition of
disodium phosphate (0.25%) with or without
further addition of a proteolytic enzyme. An
“instant” (cook-in-the-bowl) cereal also can be
made (Fig. 4). It is made by wetting and pressure
cooking the farina which has been treated with
protolytic enzymes, that open avenues for water
to penetrate the particles which helps to reduce
the cooking time. Farina is usually enriched
with vitamins and minerals commonly added as
a dry mix. The products are often flavoured with
malt or cocoa.
Plate 2 Quick oat meal
Plate 3 Instant oat meal

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Wheat (HRW)
i
Milling
i
Chunks
i
Tempering (Moisture content 15-16%, Temp. 85o-94oC)
i
Flaking (Thickness 0.007”-0.008”)
i
Drying (Moisture content 8-9%)
Fig. 4 Flow diagram for instant cook in bowl cereal
2.1.3 Corn Cereal
Breakfast cereals are made from corn grits (maize analogue of farina) which are
produced by dry milling of corn and are essentially small pieces of endosperm. As
with farina, the particle size is important. The grits are cooked with water, cooled
and the congealed mass is sliced into thick strips and fried, and served with syrup or
gravy topping. Rice products have yet to find acceptance as a hot cereal, although
rice can be ground into particles about the size of farina and cooked into a hot cereal
resembling farina.
2.2 Ready-to-Eat Cereals
Ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals are ‘ready to eat’ primarily because the grains
have been pre - cooked and are ready for consumption without further cooking in
the home. The major grains used in the manufacture of Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal
products are corn, rice, wheat, oats and barley. The processing of RTE cereals involves
first cooking the grain with flavour materials which may or may not include salt and
sweetener. Cooking pre - gelatinizes the starches and renders the grain plastic enough
to be shaped and processed further. The mass is then, dried and machined into the
final product shape before it is toasted to a final moisture content. Starting with the
basic cooking steps, the flow diverges through several parts, depicted in Fig. 5 to
emerge from final texturization as the distinctively different cereal products we
know as RTE cereals.
Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals can be described by grouping them into following
basic cereal types:
•Flaked cereals
•Puffed cereals
•Shredded cereals
Based on the types/shape, the physical and chemical properties of the cereal
products are given under Table 1 and 2, respectively.

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Table 1 : Physical properties of cereal products
Product Overall Density Solid Total Open Water Water
type/shape expansion (g/cm
3
)density pores pores solubility absorption
ratio (g/cm
3
)(%) (%)
Flakes 1-5 0.35- 1.42- 25-58 17-50 17-28 4.0-5.0
1.40 1.52
Puffed 6-18 0.08- 1.39- 70-86 69-86 18-56 2.5-6.2
cereals 0.22 1.49
Shredded 3-5 0.30- 1.44- 40-60 35-54 6-20 4.4-6.3
0.52 1.49
Table 2 : Chemical composition of cereal products (%)
Product Moisture Starch Protein Fiber Fat Sugar Salt
type/shape content content content content content content content
Flakes 3.0-8.0 40-80 8-16 4-25 4.0-8.0 0-28 0.25-1.10
Puffed 3.5-6.0 32-80 7-15 2-8 0-4.0 0-55 0.0-0.50
cereals
Shredded 2.5-6.5 45-88 4-20 7-11.5 0-7.6 0-23 0.0-1.14
2.2.1 Flaked Cereals
Flaked cereals are made directly from whole grains or parts of kernels of corn,
wheat or rice and are processed in such a way so as to obtain particles called flaking
grits that form one flake each. They can be divided into two sub - categories (i) flakes
made from whole grains or parts of whole grains, (ii) flakes made from much finer
materials which must be extruded or agglomerated to produce normal sized breakfast
cereal flakes.
Flakes from whole grains : A general process flow diagram is given in Fig.
6. The pre - processing step for corn is dry milling of regular field corn to remove the
germ and bran from the kernel leaving chunks of endosperm. The basic processing
steps involves the blending of the corn, wheat or rice grits with a flavour solution
that includes sugar, malt, salt and water. Also included may be some of the heat
stable vitamin and mineral fortification materials. After the grits are evenly coated
with the flavour syrup, cooking is done by releasing steam in batch or continuous
cooker for 30 minutes to 3 hours at a steam pressure of 15-40 psi. Cooking time for
corn grits and flavour is approximately 2 hours per batch at steam pressure of 15-18
psi. The moisture content is usually about 28-50%.

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Fig. 5 General process flow diagram for breakfast cereal manufacturing
(Cladwell
et al
2000)

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Pre - processing
i
Additives g Mixer
i Blended grits
Steam m
Cooker
Heat k
i
Cooked lumps of grits
i
Delumper
i individual cooked grit pieces
Dryer
i
dry grit pieces
Cooling and tempering
i cook/dry grit pieces
Flaker
i
Flaked pieces
Dryer/toaster
i
Packaging
Fig. 6 Flow diagram for cereal flake production
The starch is gelatinized and browning occurs due to interaction of protein
and sugars. The cooking is complete when each kernel or kernel part has been
changed from a hard chalky white to a soft, translucent golden brown.
Plate 4 Flaking rolls Plate 5 Corn flakes
The cooked grits are then, passed through delumping equipment to break and
size the loosely held together grits into mostly single grit pieces. This is followed by
drying of grits at temperatures below 121oC (250oF) and under controlled humidity.
This ensures uniform drying of the grits without case hardening where the grits
become very dry on the outside and still remain moist inside. The drying step usually
takes 2½ - 3 hours to complete to a moisture content of about 20%. However, the
moisture is not uniform as the piece is dry on the outside and moist in the interior.

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Therefore, the grits are tempered for 1 to 24 hour resulting in a moisture content of
10-15%. After being tempered, the grit is ready for flaking in large flaking rolls with
tremendous pressure (20-40 tons) between the rolls (Plate 5) to obtain the flakes, of
desired thickness normally between 0.010 and 0.035 inches. From the flaking rolls,
the flakes are conveyed to toasting ovens where they are tossed in very hot air to
remove moisture and attain final toasted colour and flavour by the dextrinization
and caramelization of the sugars in the oven. The finished flake moisture content is
approximately 2% which results in preparation of crisp flakes.
For the production of wheat flakes, whole kernels of soft wheat are used and
each kernel makes one flake. The bran coat of the kernel is a barrier to the
penetration of sugar, salt, malt and flavouring etc. and must be broken upon to get
uniform penetration of flavour and colour development during cooking. The pre-
processing treatment of wheat before cooking the grains is to lightly steam it, run it
through rolls set more closely together than the thickness of the wheat to just slightly
flatten the kernels and break upon the bran coat (Fig. 7). This is termed as ‘bumping’.
Whole wheat kernel
i
Cleaning, sorting and tempering at 27oC for 24 hrs
i
Steaming at atmosphere pressure
96oC and 21% moisture content
i
Bumping
i
Pressure cooking with sugars, salt, malt and
Colouring, 10 psi steam pressure, 90 minutes, moisture content 45-50%
i
Wiggler
i
Drying of grains moisture content 28-31%
Heating upto 82-88oC
i
Flaking
i
Toasting to < 3% moisture conbent
Fig. 7 Flow diagram for production of wheat flakes
The steps followed for production of wheat flakes are similar to that of the
corn flakes, but wheat takes only 30 minutes to cook instead of 2 hours. Flaking can
be done at higher moisture content of 28-31%. Before the flaking step, the kernels
are heated usually by infrared lamps to about 88oC for plasticising the kernel. If the
wheat kernel is flattened with great force, it will tear and give irregularly shaped
pieces that is fragile and will fall apart during shipping.
Plasticising the kernel allows it to flow under force and attaining a uniform
piece after flaking. The moisture content of wheat flakes after flaking is about 15%.
They are toasted and dried to a moisture content of less than 3%.

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Rice require only special pre - processing steps for the production of rice flakes
other than those steps involved in milling rough rice to form the polished rice that
is the normal starting material.
Extruded flakes : These are flakes made from much finer materials which
may be extruded or agglomerated to produce normal sized breakfast cereal flakes or
may be longer in size than what can be obtained by using whole grain of wheat, for
instance. The primary difference between extruded flake production and traditional
flake production is that extruded flakes replace the cooking and delumping steps
used in traditional flake production with an extruding step (Fig. 8). The dry materials
that make up the formulae e.g. a wheat flake made by this processing would be
made from whole grain flour or ground whole wheat alongwith flavouring materials,
will be blended together and fed on a continuous basis to a cooking extruder. In the
first section of the screw, it is mixed with liquid solution of water and flavour material
like sugar, salt, malt etc. Heat input of the barrel of the extruder near the feed point
is kept low to allow the ingredients to mix properly before any cooking or
gelatinization starts. The material is conveyed through the central section of the
barrel to cook it (Fig. 9).
The material is discharged through the perforated disc plate located at the
end of the last section and cut into pellets of suitable size for individual cereal flakes.
The extruded cooked pellets are further dried, tempered, flaked and toasted like the
process for corn or wheat flakes.
Pre processing
i
Cereal grits
i
Prepared grits
i
Cooked cereal pieces
i
Dry cooked cereal pieces
i
Cooling and tempering
i
Flakes
i
Flaked pieces
i
Finished flakes
i
Packaging
Fig. 9 Flow diagram for extruded flakes production
Additives ® Mixture
ii
Extruder
Dryer
ii
Cool/dry cereal process
i
Dryer/toaster

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Fig. 8 Process for manufacturing extruded flakes
(Rokey, 1995)

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2.2.2 Puffed Cereals
Puffing of cereals i.e. greatly decreasing their bulk density; can be done by either (i)
sudden application of heat at atmospheric pressure so that water is vapourized before
it has time to diffuse to the surface of the piece where the internal vaporization
expands (puffs) the product or (ii) sudden transfer of a piece containing super heated
water to a lower pressure thus, allowing the water to suddenly vapourize. This can
be accomplished by the following puffing techniques :
•Oven puffing
•Gun puffing
•Extrusion puffing
Oven Puffing : The oven puffed cereals are made exclusively using whole
grains rice or corn or mixture of these two grains as they inherently puff in the
presence of high heat and proper moisture content but usually, medium grain rice is
taken. They are cooked with sugar, salt, malt, flavouring till uniformly translucent
(Fig. 10).
Sugar syrup, salt, malt, enriching ingredients
cooking 15 h, 15 psi
i
Drying to mc 25-30%
(Rotary dryer)
i
Tempering (15 h)
i
Bumping of grains
i
Breaking of lumps and drying to 9-11% moisture content
i
Tempering
i
Toasting (Oven temp. 232-302oC, 30-45 s)
i
Nutrient enrichment
i
Packaging
Fig. 10 Flow diagram for oven puffed cereals
Gun Puffing: Wheat and rice are used for gun puffing (Plate 6). Rice used for
puffing is either long grain white rice or parboiled medium grain rice. It is treated either by
brine treatment which toughens the bran and makes it adhere together in big pieces and is
more easily shot off the kernels during puffing operation. Removal of bran is also done by
pearling where the grains is passed through grinds stones and outside bran coat is abrased-
off kernels to obtain a more appealing finished product (Fig. 11).
Parboiled rice
i

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Plate 6 Puffing machine
Pre - treatment
Puffing gun
Packaging
Fig. 11 Gun puffed whole grain production
Composite cereal doughs are also used for gun puffing for forming extruded
gun puffed cereals. The composite cereal mix is fed into the cooking extruder, a
flavour solution is added and dough is extruded, formed through a die and cut into
the final product shape. The pellets are then, dried to 12-15% moisture and tempered
(Fig. 12).
Corn, oat, flour, flavour premix
i
Addition of water
i
Mixing in a screw conveyer
i
Continuous steam jacketed cooker
Raw grain pieces
i
Steam m
Heat k
i
i
Screening
i
Drying
i
Finished cereal product
i

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moisture content 38-40%
i
Extrusion (pellets)
i
Tumbling cooker solid pellets moisture content 15-16%
i
Puffing gun (6 inch dia, 30 inch length
260-427oC, pressure 100-200 psi)
i
Drying
i
Packaging
Fig. 12 Flow diagram showing gun puffing of composite cereals
Extrusion Puffing : This is another method for expanding cereal products.
These products are characterized by their raw material originating from flours, not
whole grains. The cereals premix which contains essentially 60-75% expandable
starch base is moistened with steam or water and is fed into the extruder whose
screw’s clearance of the barrel decreases at the end close to the die (Plate 7).
Heat is generated by friction and pressure is also created which results in the
conversion of cereal product into plastic mass. Under these conditions, the dough is
quite flexible and easily adapts to complex orifice configurations. Upon exiting the
die the dough expands as the pressure is released. The expansion may continue for
a few seconds since the dough is hot and still flexible and water continues to boil off.
Moisture is flashed - off and cools the product. The product has approximately 8-15%
moisture and must be dried for satisfactory crispness to a final moisture content of
3-4%. The product may be coated with sugar syrup and flavouring if desired, cooled
and packaged (Fig. 13).
Plate 7 Exturder components (Source: Sunderland,1996)

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Cereal premix
60-75% expandable starch base
i
Addition of water
i
Extrusion
i
Temp. 149-177oC
Pressure 350-500 psi
i
Cutting
i
Drying
Fig. 13 Extrusion puffing
The quality of an expansion cooked product depends upon the conditions of
operation of the extruder and the composition of main raw material used in the
formulation (particularly the level of fat). Several other factors can influence the
degree of puffing during extrusion i.e. amount of moisture in the feed material,
dough residence time in the extruder barrel and cereal particle size. The relative
suitability of various cereal products or their blends for extrusion is given in Table 4.
Table 4 : Relative suitability of various cereal products for extrusion
Ingredient Expansion Flavour of Color of extrusion Moisture Die
extrusion product range (%) temp.
product (oC)
Corn meal Very good Strong corn Yellow 10-15 156-176
Corn flour Very good Strong corn -10-15 156-176
Potato flour Very good Mild potato Light brown 10-12 121-156
Rice flour Excellent Bland White 12-20 121-156
Wheat flour Good Bread like White to off-white 18-25 156-176
Tapioca Good Bland Off-white 12-20 156-176
Oat flour Poor Strong oat Slight brown 18-25 168-190
2.2.3 Shredded Cereals
The predominant grain used for whole grain shredding is wheat (white wheat).
Whole grains are used without the addition of any flavour and without the
removal of the germ or bran. The process flow diagram for shredded cereal
products is given in Fig. 14.
Grain cleaning
i
Cooking
i
Tempering
i

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Shredding
i
Biscuit formation
i
Baking
i
Drying
i
Packaging
Fig. 14 Flow diagram showing whole grain shredded cereal production
The whole grains are cooked at atmospheric pressure at temperature slightly
below the boiling point until the water has penetrated completely through the kernel
(45-50% moisture content). After this, water is drained off from the cooked grain and
they are cooled to ambient temperatures followed by tempering for several hours to
equilibrate the moisture in the cooked grains before it is shredded. The shredding
operation consists of running the grain between the rolls. On one pair of the rolls is
a series of about 20 shallow corrugations running around the periphery. In cross-
section, these corrugation may be rectangular, triangular or a combination of these
shapes. The other rolls of the pair is smooth. A comb is positioned against the grooved
roll and the comb teeth pick the wheat shred
from the groove. The shreds are laid down
on a moving conveyor belt under the rolls.
After the web of many layers of shreds
reaches the end of shredder, it is fed through
a cutting device to form the individual
biscuits (Plate 8). They are then baked at 121oC
for 30 minutes (depending upon the size and air
flow) to a final moisture content of 11%.
In this way, extruded shredded cereals
are also made which use a meal or flour as
raw material instead of whole grains. Other
materials such as sugar, salt, malt or other
flavour, colour, nutritional enrichment ingredients are added. Extruded shredded
cereals are typically made into small, bite size biscuits instead of the larger biscuits
of whole grain shredded wheat. Corn or rice shreds must be puffed during the toasting
operation to develop the characteristic light texture.
3.0 Fortification of the Breakfast Cereals
Breakfast cereals are commonly fortified with vitamins and minerals since, (a) most
grain sources used to create cereals have been milled to remove the germ and thus,
their vitamin content is reduced, and (b) consumers frequently ignore suggestions
that cereals are “part of” balanced breakfast and look for the cereal to be a balanced
breakfast.
Plate 8 Shredded wheat biscuit

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The movement to ward fortifying products with certain vitamins and minerals
is driven by multiple facets of the societies of developed nations, with strong voices
from the medical and regulatory communities as well as from food processors,
consumer groups and the media. The regulatory influence of the Nutrition Labeling
and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 has emphasized the addition or presence of
micronutrients in food products due to mandatory labeling of vitamins A and C,
calcium and iron.
An increase in the level of fortification added to breakfast cereals may make it
feasible for the consumers to replace a multivitamin tablet with a highly fortified brand
of cereal. There have been numerous studies within the last 20 years that have
demonstrated a positive correlation between an individual’s overall nutritional status
and the regular consumption of breakfast cereals. It can be demonstrated that children
who ate RTE cereals had greater daily intakes of vitamins A, B6, thiamin, niacin,
riboflavin and iron than those who did not. Intake of carbohydrate, fibre, thiamin,
riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron and vitamins A, C and E was found to be higher in
people of all the age groups consuming breakfast cereals as compared to skippers.
After the decisions have been made regarding which nutrients are required in
the final product, the food technologists is faced with the challenge of not only getting
the job done, but getting it done so that:
•the product is not negatively affected in odour, flavour or colour;
•the added nutrients are acceptably stable with sufficient overage to
compensate for losses on processing and storage;
•production of the end product remains practical and economically viable.
The more complex and abusive the processing conditions the more difficult it
is to achieve these ends. Vitamins are exposed to a wide range of physical and chemical
factors as shown in Fig.15.

VITAMINS
Temperature
Water activity (aw)
pH
Oxygen
Light (irradiation)
Catalysts (iron, copper….)
Enzymes, sulphite, chlorine …
.
Inhibitors
Fig. 15 Factors influencing the stability of vitamins and their retention in foods
(Source: O’Brien and Roberton, 1993)

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The method for fortification must be based on sound manufacturing practices
as well as a good knowledge of nutrient chemistry and of the product and process.
Cereal product characteristics that must be considered are: desired nutrient claim,
pH, moisture content, processing temperatures, holding time (if any), storage
temperature, storage times, packaging, product formulation and others. Processing
factors that need to be considered are temperature ranges (121-204oC), moisture
ranges (10-60%) toasting temperatures (148-204oC), flaking pressures, extrusion
pressures, coating systems etc.
Fortification profiles in RTE breakfast cereals range from 10 to 100% of the
Daily Values (DV) for a few select vitamins (i.e. antioxidants, vitamins) to the 9
vitamins and minerals with established DV, in addition to micronutrients that have
been suggested to have positive roles in maintaining optimum health.
Once the vitamins premix has been developed with the appropriate dosages
and the most approximate form, processors must determine if the process being
used will permit the addition of all the vitamins at the same stage of the process. In
other words, given the different stability profiles of the 13 vitamins typically added
to food products, consideration must be given to multiple points of addition to
accommodate differing sensitivities among certain vitamins to factors such as heat,
moisture and oxygen exposures. Table 5 summarizes the sensitivity of vitamins to
external factors.
Table 5 : Sensitivity of vitamins to external factors
Vitamin Heat Oxygen Light pH
< 7 7> 7
A- - - - + +
D- - - + + -
E- (+) - (+) - (+) + (+) + (+) + (+)
K+ + - - +-
C- - - +- -
Thiamin - - - +- -
Riboflavin +-+ + - -
B6+ + + + + +
B12 +- - + + +
Biotin + + + + + +
Folic acid + + -+ + +
Niacin + + + + + +
Pantothenic acid -+ + -+-
+ Stable; - unstable; (+) esterified as tocophenyl acetate
In RTE cereals, the vitamin portion of the fortification package is usually
added in two stages because the more sensitive or heat labile vitamins tend to
degrade rapidly as a result of exposure to the aggressive conditions often encountered
with manufacturing process.

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Food Processing and Preservation
To overcome the losses of heat-labile vitamins, they are applied in a form of
spray after the extrusion step which minimizes the dosages necessary to ensure
vitamin recovery. It also minimizes the presence of off flavours and odours, making
the product more acceptable to the consumer. The remaining component of the
fortification profile, minerals and stable vitamins, typically are added to the dry mix
before extrusion.
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