RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ:RIBT and RIBTW) is global leader in the production and marketing of value added products derived from rice bran.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company has plants in Montana, California, Louisiana, Texas and Brazil. It has developed a proprietary technology that captures the bran layers and germ of rice—immediately after it is milled. RiceBran then stabilizes the raw rice bran so it can be used as a low-glycemic, natural and minimally-processed source of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and healthy oil.

Of the four major crops that feed the world (corn, soy, wheat, and rice) rice is the primary source of nutrition for three billion people. In addition, most of the rice grown around the world is not genetically modified. Yet rice has been underutilized. The most nutritious parts of rice, the bran and germ layers, which are responsible for 80% of the nutritional value of rice, go largely unused. In the absence of stabilization, raw rice bran quickly spoils and can only be used as animal feed or discarded.

Today, thanks to RiceBran Technologies, raw rice bran is being stabilized right at the mill and turned into 55 million tons of healthy, natural, minimally processed “clean label” ingredients for healthy, natural consumer products. Stabilized rice bran is non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free, and free of major allergens.

According to the USDA, rice bran has 20 times the nutritional value of white rice. Stabilized rice bran is being added to meat products as filler; or it takes the place of meat as source of sustainable protein. It’s being used in protein drinks, snacks and baked goods, as sources of both protein and whole grains. Rice bran oil is being hailed as the healthiest vegetable oil due to its high flash point and because it’s full of nutrients such as tocopherols, tocotrienols and gamma oryzanols—all potent antioxidants found in unusually high quantities in rice bran.

Meanwhile, there’s an increasing international awareness about the environmental costs of producing and eating meat. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide.

In contrast, RiceBran Technologies’ work is supports environmental sustainability and combats waste. With its stabilized rice bran, RiceBran Technologies has created a second crop and food source without increasing the use of arable land or water. Rice bran is considered among the solutions to feeding an ever-expanding global population.

For more information, visit www.ricebrantech.com.