A signing ceremony between Jiangnan University and Yongen Guanliang Changzhou Grain Co is held in Wuxi. [Photo/jiangnan.edu.cn]
Jiangnan University exclusively licensed the national invention patent "a method for producing rice for people with high blood sugar" to Yongen Guanliang Changzhou Grain Co for a price of 50 million yuan ($7.77 million) recently, local media reported on April 26.
The grain company in Changzhou will produce the special rice in large quantities, and the first products will be available in June, according to the company.
Associate Professor Li Yongfu and his team from the National Engineering Laboratory of Food Fermentation Technology of Jiangnan University began studying instantaneous high temperature fluidization technology for improving the cooking quality of whole grains in 2013.
The team spent about eight years building a complete industrialization technology system for producing rice for people with high blood sugar. During testing, people eating the product showed low blood sugar reactions in their bodies, making the rice suitable for those with high blood sugar.
In order to bring the rice to mass production, Jiangnan University asked the Wuxi International Food and Bioengineering Industry Intellectual Property Operation Platform to formulate an overall design layout.
Zhang Yong, director of the platform, said the platform first focused on value evaluation and patent protection. It also protected key technologies with 15 domestic invention patent applications and two US patent applications, and released the information in both domestic and foreign markets.
