The cereal grains are seeds of the grass family. The word cereal is derived from ‘ceres’, the Roman Goddess of grain. The principal cereal crops are rice, wheat, maize or corn, jowar, ragi and bajra. The term cereal is not limited to these but also flours, meals, breads and alimentary pastes or pasta. Cereal grains provide the world with a majority of its food calories and about half of its protein. These grains are consumed directly or in modified form as major items of diet (flour, starch, oil, bran, sugar syrups and numerous additional ingredients used in the manufacture of other foods) .
The ease with which grains can be produced and stored, together with the relatively low cost and nutritional contribution has resulted in widespread use of cereal foods. They are the staple foods in the diets of most population groups.
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