WASHINGTON,
July 27, 2016 - Impoverished populations around the world suffer because
they’re not getting the vitamins and nutrients they need even if they are
managing to eat. It’s a vexing problem, but U.S. rice farmers are certain they
can soon be a major part of the solution.
The
lack of folic acid continues to cause birth defects. Not enough zinc weakens
immune systems and causes diarrhea. Too little niacin leads to skin diseases.
Lack of vitamin A causes blindness. These are just some of the problems
plaguing the poorest regions of the world, and those problems often can’t be
solved by food donations alone, according to the international Food
Fortification Initiative.
Rice
that is infused or coated with these beneficial ingredients may be the answer,
and USA Rice Federation officials say they are hopeful that the United Nations’
World Food Program (WFP) will soon give its approval to a new technology for
use by U.S. rice processors.
If
they’re right, it will be a “game-changer” for U.S. rice farmers who supply
much of the food aid that the nation donates every year. Beyond just supplying
sustenance, they’ll be able to supply those missing vitamins and nutrients on a
massive scale, said Rebecca Bratter, a USA Rice consultant.
“This
is the top-notch commodity that’s consumed by over 3 billion people around the
world,” Bratter said. “People are already eating it, so you don’t have to twist
their arms because they already like it. You fortify it, and then you have a
very easy delivery device to address malnutrition, or what is known as hidden
hunger.”
At
present, only one U.S. processor, Illinois-based Heartland Harvest, is
producing rice using a technology called extrusion, which has been approved by
WPF and which fortifies the grain with iron, folic acid, B 12, vitamin A,
thiamin, niacin, and B6. USA Rice officials say they are hoping for WPF
approval of another process, called rinse-resistant coating, which could
substantially increase the amount of fortified rice available for export.
The
U.S. will donate about 50,000 tons of rice this year, said Bratter, but if the
WFP approves coated rice and processors can boost supplies, that amount could
eventually double. She said that ideally USA Rice would like to see as much as
200,000 to 300,000 tons donated annually.
That
would be a major boost for rice farmers who export about half of their annual
production.
USA
Rice estimates that roughly 3 percent to 5 percent of U.S. rice exports are
shipped in the form of foreign food aid. The amount of rice that the U.S.
donates overseas is directly tied to requests from private voluntary
organizations, or PVOs, that operate in impoverished regions to help distribute
the aid.
The
WFP has been studying this new coating technology for more than a year, said
Bratter, and a decision is overdue. The primary concerns of the WFP, she said, are
whether the added nutrients will hold fast to the rice instead of washing off
and whether people will accept the fortified rice as just as tasty as
unfortified.
The
potential for the coated nutrients to wash off is a valid concern, said Scott
Deatherage, general manager for Heartland Harvest. The Illinois company has the
capacity to fortify about 20 million pounds of rice a year through extrusion,
he said. That’s much less than the industry, as a whole, wants to be
contributing to international food aid.
The
WFP was expected to finish the study in December, but farmers and processors
are confident that the results will be positive, USA Rice spokesman Michael
Klein said.
“Work
still remains to be done on the procurement and logistical side for this new
product to gain traction in the food assistance supply chain,” says Jamie
Warshaw, chairman of USA Rice’s Food Aid subcommittee.
“We
believe that fortified rice will increase the demand for U.S.-grown rice and
will be a game changer – for rice growers and processors, for global feeding
programs, and most importantly for the beneficiaries of the improved
nutritional qualities of rice. USA Rice is committed to this effort and is
working closely with U.S. government entities to ensure that fortified rice has
the maximum impact on those in need.”
While
there has been no decision from the WFP on nutrient coating, the organization
is completely sold on the benefits of fortifying rice in general.
Using
a $2.7 million grant from the USDA, the WFP, the Institut
de Recherche pour le Développement and PATH, a non-profit anti-poverty
organization, conducted a study from 2012
through 2014 on 10,000 school children in Cambodia that showed that students who
were fed fortified rice not only suffered less disease, but also did better
with their studies.
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