Food Aid

Rice is one of the most widely consumed commodities in the world and is the most consumed commodity for half of the world’s population. The U.S. provides milled or parboiled long and medium grain rice for our U.S. government (USG) food assistance programs.

Anywhere from 2-5% of U.S. rice exports are in the form of food aid, providing a safe and nutritious food source for vulnerable or at-risk populations all over the world.

USA Rice Action:

Working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) to encourage the use of fortified rice in appropriate food aid programs.
Ensuring that in-kind commodities, such as rice, remain in the USG toolbox.

Resources

Documents

USA Rice Fortified Rice Fact Sheet

External Resources

Nutrition

Overview

Rice is a staple for more than half of the world’s population and is a food in nearly all the world’s cultures. It is nutritious, easy to digest, and plentiful – thus an excellent component in world feeding programs. Rice is versatile and easy to prepare, store, handle, and distribute.

Rice is comprised of mostly complex carbohydrates, contains essential amino acids and has the highest quality protein of all the grains. Using Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Scoring, rice has a 31% better quality protein than corn and a 38% better quality protein than wheat. This method of evaluating protein quality is useful to food aid professionals in planning diets with adequate protein since less protein is needed in diets when higher quality protein is included.

Rice is Perfect for Food Aid Because it is:

Rich in complex carbohydrates*
Contains all eight essential amino acids*
Cholesterol and sodium-free *
Hypoallergenic*
Therapeutic for some digestive disorders
High digestibility (88%) aids in nutrient absorption
Readily available and easy to handle/transport
Shelf life of two years
Meets USG "processed" food requirement**
Meets the USG "bagged in the US" requirement**

* Very important points for improving the nutritional levels of those who have compromised immune systems.
**Congressional mandate for USAID Title II programs.

Rice Nutrients

The nutritional values of long, medium, and short grain rice are essentially the same within each variety or classification (i.e., brown or white). Below is a comparison chart of brown rice, unenriched white rice, and parboiled rice:

This is a chart that compares the nutrients of brown rice, unenriched white rice, and unenriched parboiled rice.

Fortified Rice

Overview

Over the last decade, USDA and USAID have sought to diversify the portfolio of value added nutritional foods made with U.S. origin commodities for global food aid and nutritional programming. Developing a series of micronutrient-fortified foods to address not only hunger but also persistent nutritional deficiencies have also led to cost effective options for feeding. Fortified rice is among the most effective delivery mechanisms and is the most cost effective for bioavailable micronutrients that can be utilized in food assistance and nutritional programming.

Image of a bag of Fortified Rice from the USA

Rice fortification provides an immediate, ready-to-use product that helps to address micronutrient deficiencies on a large scale. Lack of Vitamin A and iron are among the most persistent and damaging micronutrient deficiencies impacting growth and development. USA Rice is working closely with USDA, USAID, WFP and the PVO community to lead to the successful and effective use of fortified rice.

Nutrients included in fortified rice: Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, Iron and Zinc.

Background

2010: USDA and USAID receive additional funding through the McGovern Dole Food for Education Program to conduct a series of micronutrient fortification pilot programs, including fortified rice.
2014: A school feeding intervention program in Cambodia showed significant improvements in vitamin A and zinc uptake with the fortified rice.
2014: Fortified rice is added to USAID’s master list of commodities for use in U.S. government food assistance programs.
2015 – 2017: Additional studies further confirm the effectiveness of fortified rice in addressing nutrient deficiencies.
2018: Rinse resistant coated fortification technology approved for use, allowing for potentially increased production and lower prices for fortified rice.

Information on how to register to become an approved exporter for food assistance programs can be found here: https://portal.wbscm.usda.gov/

Specifications

Rice Types

Long Grain:

When cooked, the grains are separate, light, and fluffy.
USAGE: This type of rice is ideal for recipes requiring a distinct shape and texture
WHERE: Traditionally eaten in the Western Hemisphere, Eastern Europe, Middle East, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and most of Africa
CROP SIZE: Approximately 75% of the rice crop is long grain, averaging about 2 million acres
COST: The price tends to vary with demand on a yearly basis
COOKING: 1 cup of uncooked rice with 2 cups of water cooks in about 20 minutes yielding 3 cups of rice.

Medium Grain:

When cooked the grains are moist and tender, and have a greater tendency to cling (think sushi rice)
USAGE: This type of rice cooks to a somewhat creamy consistency.
WHERE: Traditionally eaten in Central Asia, North Asia, Mediterranean and Aegean regions.
CROP SIZE: Approximately 20% of the rice crop is medium grain
COST: The price tends to vary with demand on a yearly basis
COOKING: 1 cup of uncooked rice with 1.5 cups of water cooks in about 20 minutes yielding about 3 cups of rice.

Rice Grades

#2/7 or better has 7% broken kernels, "may be slightly gray" in color and is well-milled.
#5/20 or better has 20% broken kernels, "may be gray or slightly rosy" in color and reasonably well-milled. The nutritional content is virtually the same as #2. Cooking time is slightly shorter than # 2.

Milling Types

Brown rice or whole grain: is the least processed form of rice. It has the outer hull removed, but still retains the bran layers that give it the tan color and nut-like flavor. This type of rice has the highest nutritional value. One cup cooks in 45 to 50 minutes yielding 3 to 4 cups.
Reasonably well-milled: most of the bran layer is removed which results in a slightly darker color then well-milled rice.
Well-milled: all of the bran is removed. Most rice consumers prefer this type.

Recent News

Mar 17, 2017

***Fortified rice gets a thumbs up***

WASHINGTON, DC -- Last week the World Food Programme (WFP) released a much-anticipated study on rice fortification that should pave the way for greater use of fortified rice in U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and WFP food assistance programs. The study demonstrated that rinse-resistant coated fortified rice and extruded fortified rice perform the same in terms of taste and impact on malnutrition. USDA is already using fortified rice in the McGovern-Dole school feeding program but the tonnages have been limited by lack of access to rinse resistant coating technology. The results of this study should lead to greater use of all available fortification technologies in food aid programs and help bolster the use of U.S.-grown rice.

“The study concludes that extrusion and rinse resistant coating are both viable techniques for fortifying rice and that both fortification technologies are effective delivery devices for key nutrients” said Bobby Hanks, president of Louisiana Rice Mill and chairman of the USA Rice Food Aid Subcommittee. “This is welcome news for the U.S. rice industry, which should now see benefits from greater programming of fortified rice and overall use of rice in feeding programs.”

USA Rice will be working closely with USAID on minor revisions to the commodity specifications for fortified rice with the expectation that these specifications will be released within the next few months. In addition, more work will be needed to ensure that certain nutrients will be effectively absorbed and that the common practice of pre-soaking rice in many recipient countries will not affect the bioavailability of key micronutrients in fortified rice.

“USAID has made it clear that once this study was completed, the agency would use all fortified rice in many of their feeding programs” said Hanks. “With looming budget cuts that may negatively impact U.S. food aid programs, including the McGovern-Dole program that has provided more than 22 million meals to children in 41 countries, it is heartening to see that U.S.-grown fortified rice has received a positive evaluation from WFP in improving the nutritional quality of food aid delivered to vulnerable populations.”