The Rice Association represents the UK rice sector, covering the leading businesses that import and process rice in the UK. UK rice is produced in line with rigorous food safety and labelling regulations.

 

A number of similar YouTube channels have published misleading videos regarding food safety standards of UK rice brands. Examples of these videos can be found here and here. The claims made in these videos are misleading or false and should be treated with caution.

 

These channels use artificial intelligence (AI) to scrape online information on food safety, production and nutritional standards and apply the ‘findings’ to UK food products and brands. The channels cover a wide range of UK food and drink products, including rice.

 

The claims made about rice and other food products are misleading and often wholly false, in some cases referring to practices in markets outside of the UK and reflecting the fact that AI has been used to develop the content for the video. Specific brands and products are highlighted and claims are made by the video creators about food safety, nutritional quality and additives that are patently false and for which it is clear that genuine background research and verification has not been conducted.

 

Some examples of claims are as follows:

 

• Arsenic – That consumers are being exposed to dangerous levels of arsenic in UK rice. This is false. UK rice must meet strict legal limits for arsenic which are set at a low level so that, even for groups that consume significant quantities of rice, the level of arsenic intake is safe and does not impact health. Specific claims are made about basmati rice being particularly high in arsenic, which is factually incorrect.

 

• Vitamin fortification – That specific rice brands ‘spray’ the rice with synthetic vitamins. This is misleading. There are a small number of rice products sold in the UK that are enriched with added vitamins, such as thiamine and iron. Where this is done this is clearly stated on the product label and ingredients list, in line with UK food law.

 

• Rice quality – That rice, in particular basmati rice quality is poor in the UK. For example, that broken grains are blended with basmati to produce a lower quality product. This is wrong. The UK was the first country in Europe to establish a code of practice for basmati rice, which sets out scientific criteria for basmati authenticity and quality, including strict limits on broken rice (which can occur in small quantities as an unavoidable outcome of the milling process). This code of practice is used by UK enforcement to ensure that basmati sold to UK consumers is genuine and meets a high quality threshold. The UK Basmati Code of Practice is publicly available and can be downloaded here.

 

The channels use concerning video titles to alarm consumers and drive engagement. Given the scale of the misinformation and seriousness of the claims, particularly with regards to food safety, the Rice Association has raised this issue with the Food Standards Agency. If consumers have concerns and follow-up enquiries, please contact: info@riceassociation.org.uk.