Attendees ‘Think Rice’ at Annual FNCE Show

WASHINGTON, DC -- Last week, more than 10,000 dietitians, food policy makers, healthcare providers, nutrition scientists and researchers, and food industry leaders from around the globe gathered in the nation’s capital to attend the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 2018 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE).  As an exhibitor, USA Rice promoted U.S. rice messaging, addressed nutrition and food safety questions, and debuted the new “RD-Approved Guide to U.S.-grown Rice” toolkit that was distributed via branded USB flashdrives.

At the new USA Rice booth, visual aids helped attendees understand the differences in U.S.-grown rice varieties and, of course, everyone lined up to test their knowledge on the famous Think Rice trivia wheel.

“The FNCE show is a very important event in the Domestic Promotion annual plan,” said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice manager of domestic promotion, who manned the booth.  “The conference and expo brings together our target audience for USA Rice’s nutrition and foodservice programs, and provides a great platform for USA Rice to position itself as the ultimate resource when it comes to all aspects of the U.S. rice industry from nutrition to sourcing and recipe production.”
 
Outside of the booth’s traditional offerings, USA Rice conducted a survey of more than 150 health professionals to gain stronger insight on rice attitudes and usage.

“Collecting real industry feedback gives us a better understanding of consumer interests and needs, while reinforcing our message that U.S.-grown rice is a central component of a healthy, well-balanced diet in both schools and homes,” said Jacobs.  “We’ll be sharing these findings as soon as they have been tallied and interpreted.”