Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990)RegulationsGrading, Packing and Marking of Rice Kernels intended for sale in the Republic of South AfricaPart I : Quality Standards5. Classes of rice |
Rice shall be classified according to the following combination of characteristics:
| (a) | Kernel length/width ratio and/or combination of both; |
| (b) | Colour of the rice; |
| (c) | Parboiling Treatment where applicable; and |
| (d) | Speciality rice where applicable. |
TABLE 1. CLASSIFICATION OF KERNEL LENGTH AND WIDTH
| (i) | The classification with regard to kernel length shall be in accordance with one of the following specification either A, B or C as depicted in the table below and Figure 1: |
A |
B |
C |
|
Kernal Length |
Kernel Length/Width Ratio |
Combination of kernel length and the length/width Ratio |
|
Brown Rice |
White Rice |
||
Short grain rice ≤6.2 mm Rice with 70% or more of whole or broken rice having a kernel length of less than 6.2 mm and not more than 10% of medium and long grain rice. |
≤2.0 |
≤1.9 |
≤5.2 mm and with the ratio of ≤ 2 |
Medium grain rice 6.2 mm – 6.6 mm Rice with 70% or more of whole or broken rice having a kernel length of 6.2 mm but less than 6.6 mm; and not more than 10% of long and short grain rice. |
2.1 – 3.0 |
2.0 – 2.9 |
≥5.2 mm but not More than 6.0 mm and with length/width ratio of 2 but ≤ 3 |
Long grain rice 6.6 mm – 7.0 mm Rice with 70 % or more of whole or broken rice grains having a kernel length of 6.6 mm or more and not more than 10% of medium and short grain rice. |
>3.1 – 3.4 |
>3.0 – 3.3 |
More than 6.0 mm and length/width ratio of more than 2 but less than 3 or A kernel length of more than 6.0 mm and with a length/width ratio of 3 or more |
Extra-Long grain rice ≥ 7mm Rice with 70 % or more of whole or broken rice grains having a kernel length of 7.0 mm or more and not more than 10% of long, medium and short grain rice. |
>3.5 |
>3.4 |
* |
| (ii) | The classification with regard to colour shall be in either brown or white. |
| (iii) | The classification with regard to heat treatment shall be parboiled where applicable. If it is parboiled it needs to be stated as such, and if no statements is indicated, it shall be taken that the product is non-parboiled. |
| (iv) | The classification with regard to speciality rice shall include but not limited to, descriptions related to aroma, texture, usage, composite rice, starch/Amylose content, ecological regions, colour (other than brown and white), and any other characteristics: |
| (a) | Aromatic/Fragrant rice; |
| (b) | Coloured rice; |
| (c) | Composite rice; |
| (d) | Glutinous rice; |
| (e) | Sushi rice; |
| (f) | Wild rice; and |
| (g) | Risotto/Arborio rice. |