New guidance aimed at ensuring UK consumers are not bluffed into buying rice incorrectly labelled as 'basmati' has been published this week by the UK Food Standards Agency.
Basmati is the name given to certain rice varieties grown exclusively in the Himalayan foothills in north-west India and Pakistan. The rice, which has grown in popularity in the UK during the past 10 years, has a distinctive aroma and its cooked grains have a characteristic elongated shape. But the term 'Basmati' is not protected in law.
According to the FSA, its new guidance, which follows a UK-wide consultation in 2002, recommends that the term 'Basmati' should only be used to refer to 11 Indian and five Pakistani rice varieties which display typical Basmati properties. This list may expand as new varieties which conform to the same criteria come onto the market.
The guidance also recommends that the country of origin should be listed and consumers should be told if the rice is mixed with grains from non-Basmati varieties.
With the help of a new DNA technique which can distinguish between Basmati rice varieties and non-Basmati varieties, the FSA is currently undertaking a UK-wide survey of rice labelled as Basmati to see how well it conforms to the new guidance.