U.S. food crops, including rice, are held to very strict food safety and pesticide residue standards by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Imported crops and food products are held to various standards by their origin country and/or Codex Alimentarius (CODEX) which are often not be as stringent as U.S. standards. U.S. food safety standards should be enforced for domestic and imported food equally.
Rice is a grain, not a shape. That means that food and products using the word “rice” in their description and marketing must contain or be derived from rice or wild rice. Rice is defined as whole and broken kernels obtained from the species Oryza sativa L, wild rice are four species of grasses from the genus Zizania. should use the word rice in their name. Consumers are faced with many choices and advice when it comes to making food purchasing decisions, we believe that labels and terms that are misleading to consumers should not be used.
We support a risk-based approach to establishing domestic and global standards for food safety and commerce and as an industry we strive to provide consumers assurance that U.S. rice and rice products meet or exceed the food safety standards in place by FDA and CODEX.