FSSAI sets standards for basmati rice; to be enforced from August

  • January 13, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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FSSAI sets standards for basmati rice; to be enforced from August

Subject: Geography

Section :Agriculture

Context:

  • In a bid to promote the business around basmati rice, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified standards for basmati rice January 12, 2023. They will be enforced from August 1, 2023.

Need:

  • FSSAI sets the standards:
    • To protect consumer interest
    • To establish fair practices in the trade of basmati
    • Ensure the basmati rice sold in the market has the characteristic fragrance identified with this variety
    • To make the market free from artificial fragrances and colouring.

Parameters include:

  • The authority has set standards on parameters such as the average size of grains and their elongation ratio after cooking.
  • It has set the maximum limits for moisture, amylose content, uric acid, damaged grains and the presence of non-basmati rice. 

Applicable on:

  • Brown basmati rice,
  • milled basmati rice,
  • parboiled brown basmati rice
  • milled parboiled basmati rice

About Basmati rice:

  • It is one of the best known varieties of rice all across the globe.
  • It is long grain rice which has its origin from India and some parts of Pakistan.
  • Basmati rice has a unique fragrance and flavour due to the presence of a chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.
  • This chemical is found in basmati rice at about 90 parts per million (ppm) which is 12 times more than non-basmati rice varieties.
  • Basmati rice needs specific climatic conditions to grow which is why it is cultivated in selected regions of India.

Production of Basmati Rice in India:

  • India is the largest producer of Basmati rice with about 70 per cent share in global production.
  • Basmati rice constitutes one of India’s significant exports both in terms of soft power and hard money.
  • It is cultivated in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and western Uttar Pradesh.
  • In May 2010, GI status was given to basmati grown only in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Major chunk of India’s basmati rice is exported to Gulf countries viz. Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait.
FSSAI sets standards for basmati rice; to be enforced from August Geography