Nutrition Experts Encouraged to “Eat Right” and “Think Rice” at 2021 FNCE Show

ARLINGTON, VA -- Last week, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics hosted the 2021 Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) and USA Rice continued its streak of exhibiting at the annual nutrition trade show.  Similar to 2020, 2021 FNCE was a virtual event and USA Rice hosted a virtual exhibitor booth to share industry resources with attendees.  Participation at the three-day expo was strong with more than 10,800 registered nutrition professionals from sixty-five countries.

Dietitians, food policy makers, healthcare providers, nutrition scientists and researchers, and food industry leaders signed in to explore USA Rice’s nutrition and foodservice offerings with the opportunity to ask questions of USA Rice staff in real time.  The virtual booth was stocked with U.S.-grown varietal information, recipes, industry videos, access to foodservice resources, and nutrition handouts that could be downloaded and saved offline.  Attendees also took a survey on rice usage, applications, nutritional reputation, and the importance of the product of origin claims.  Final survey results are still being tabulated.

“No matter the format, FNCE presents a great opportunity for USA Rice to engage with those responsible for supporting healthy diets and crafting food policy while positioning USA Rice as a trusted resource,” said Byron Holmes, chair of the USA Rice Nutrition Subcommittee.

New for this year, USA Rice included one-pagers on food safety for both consumers and industry professionals. The Arsenic and Rice: What to Know handout provides consumers with evidence-based answers for questions related to rice and arsenic with quotes from nutrition experts, while the Six Facts about U.S. Rice & Food Safety document is industry-facing and focuses on rice and food safety as a whole.

“Attendees were overwhelmingly receptive to our collection of rice resources,” said Holmes.  “Seventy percent of visitors to the USA Rice booth downloaded and saved at least one item so we know our nutritional messaging is going directly to our target audience.”