engleski

Iron content in various types of flours

The annual average consumption of cereal products (including flour, bread and bagels, other bakery products and pasta) in Croatia is 283.84 g/day/person. Bread and bagels, together with flour account for 86.10% of cereal products consumption, with semi-white and white products prevailing. Cereal products present the basis of a daily diet, and their iron content is considered as a potent modulator in terms of the total dietary intake of iron. The aim was to analyse various types of flour (excluding wheat flours) on iron content. A rapid spectroscopic method for iron determination in fortified and unfortified foods, developed by Kosse et al. (Food Chem 2001 ; 75:371-6) was used for the analysis of spelt, soy, oat, rye, buckwheat, millet and chickpea flour. The lowest content of iron was found in buckwheat flour (2.16 mg/100 g), while soy flour had the highest content of iron (8.83 mg/100 g). In comparison to white and semi-white wheat flour, partial or complete substitution with some of the analysed flours (e.g. soy flour) would result in significantly higher dietary intake of iron from cereal products. Analysed types of flours show the potential for the development of new functional cereal products ; specifically bread and other bakery products with high iron content that would eventually tackle the problem of low dietary intake of iron.

various types of flours; cereal products; dietary intake of iron

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