The contribution of Asian noodles to dietary thiamine intakes: A study of commercial dried products

Cereal based foods, including Asian noodles which represent the end use of at least one-eighth of global wheat production, are potentially good sources of thiamine. However, there is a lack of data on the stability of thiamine during processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the thiamine contents of three styles of Asian noodle products: white salted, yellow alkaline and instant. A standard method of analysis (Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), method number 953.17) was used to determine the thiamine content of noodles before and after cooking. Factors influencing thiamine stability were also investigated. The results showed that Asian noodles include products which vary significantly in formulation and are manufactured by distinct processes. pH levels were highest in yellow alkaline and lowest in white salted style. White salted noodles have higher thiamine levels although there is clearly variation between individual samples for each style of product. For most samples, thiamine levels were relatively low and considerable losses occurred during cooking. Thiamine values were particularly low for samples where alkaline salts were incorporated during manufacture. It is concluded that greater losses occur where higher pH values were observed and there is considerable variation in the thiamine content of Asian noodles.