Mathematical modelling to control fungal growth in paddy dried using fluidisation

Abstract

Fungi can infect paddy from the planting process through to storage. Contaminating fungi can produce aflatoxins that can persist in the paddy and in storage until it is used to make other products. In the interests of food safety, in this study, we aimed to control the growth of fungi in paddy during storage using mathematical modelling of a drying method that uses fluidisation at temperatures of 70–150 °C. We found experimentally that an increase in the drying rate was related to an increase in the drying temperature. Drying paddy at a high temperature hardened the texture of rice when cooked, owing to the starch gelatinisation. Drying could decrease fungal growth (FG) and aflatoxin content during storage; however, it also resulted in a decrease in the antioxidant properties of paddy. Mathematical modelling and a proposed FG equation were applied to predict a suitable drying condition. The optimal drying condition reduced the risk of FG in stored paddy by ~50% without affecting antioxidant properties.