Gluten-Free Rice Malt Extract Powder: Pilot-Scale Production, Characterization, and Food Applications

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: This study reports pilot-scale production of gluten-free rice malt extract powder from Thai Chainat 1 rice as a sustainable alternative to barley malt extract. <b>Methods</b>: The process combined controlled malting with sequential enzymatic hydrolysis, optimized through bench-scale validation and scaled up to a 1500 L pilot system. <b>Results</b>: The resulting powder was rich in fermentable sugars (maltose 43.9 g/100 g, glucose 14.3 g/100 g), protein (5.2 g/100 g), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA, 245.2 mg/100 g), and thiamine (0.64 mg/100 g), while free of detectable gluten, aflatoxins, and heavy metals. Microbiological quality met international safety standards. Shelf-life studies under ambient and accelerated conditions demonstrated chemical stability and bioactive retention for up to three years in laminated and HDPE packaging. Application trials confirmed that the rice malt extract powder supported yeast, bacterial, and mold growth comparably to commercial malt extract in culture media, with optimized yeast-mold agar formulations enabling direct substitution without supplementary glucose. The powder was further applied to a gluten-free malt beverage, yielding a beer-like product with acceptable physicochemical and nutritional quality, though residual alcohol levels exceeded the non-alcoholic threshold and required process optimization. <b>Conclusions</b>: Rice malt extract powder represents a safe, functional ingredient suitable for food, beverage, and industrial microbiology applications, offering opportunities to reduce import dependency and advance gluten-free innovation in emerging markets.