The firm said the initial introduction includes a variety of unmodified and modified rice starches that conform to non-GMO standards, meeting EU rules on food.
"We are already well known in the industry as the leading domestic supplier of potato-based starches for food in North America. The addition of rice starch is an important step in expanding our leadership," said John Randall, vice president & general manager for Penford Food Ingredients.
Rice starch, a soft, white powder over twice as expensive as wheat and corn starch, is used by the food industry for its gel strength, gelling temperature and starch granule rigidity.
Key applications for the ingredient with a tiny granule size, neutral taste, and soft mouthfeel include baby food, extruded products, soups, dressings and meat preparations.
But one of the fastest growing markets for rice starch are functional foods, forecast to double within five years in the UK alone from €1.2 billion to €2.47 billion.
Rice starches are significantly more expensive than their corn and wheat alternatives, ranging from about €0.9 to €1.5 a kilo.
Long-, medium-, and short-grain rices contain varying ratios of the two starch components, amylose and amylopectin.
Amylopectin is found in highest concentrations in short-grain (also called 'sticky' or 'waxy') rice. Amylose is highest in long-grain rice-enabling these grains to be separate and fluffy when cooked.
Each possess its own unique chemistry, these rice starches have different applications in industry. With cosmetics and tableting, the kind of starch used is not necessarily important, but with foods, starch type does matter.
Starch from waxy rice, for example, exhibits high freeze-thaw stability. Consequently, because this starch holds water well, a food product- like Buffalo wings-will not lose valuable moisture or juices when it is frozen and then thawed.
When aiming at functional properties in starch, most commercial companies examine the characteristics of competitive starches in particular applications. This sets the target to shoot for, says Morton Satin in a recent report for the UN-backed Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Market analysts SK Patil and Associates estimate that total use of starch will hit 70 million tons by 2010 on annual (global) growth of 2.2 per cent. Growth in the US at 0.65 per cent, the EU at 0.2 per cent and Japan at 0.18 per cent will be very slight, while for the rest of the world the market rise is pitched at 2.25 per cent.
The US department of agriculture predicts global production of rice at 401.8 million tons (milled basis) in 2004/05, up 10.8 million tons from 2003/04.