Alerts

A new pathway for rice ‘semi-processed (parboiled with germ intact)’ has been added to the BICON Case ‘Rice for human consumption or processing'.

Importers must demonstrate that the rice has been parboiled by declaring all of the following on a Manufacturer’s Declaration:

1. The rice has been soaked in water at a minimum temperature of 60 °C for at least 4 hours OR 65 °C for 2 hours.
   

2. The hydrated rice has been steamed at a minimum core temperature of 110 °C for at least 10 minutes OR 117 °C for 5 minutes.
   

Note:

• Manufacturer’s declaration must meet the department’s Minimum documentary and import declaration requirements policy.
  

• The department will verify the effectiveness of manufacturer declarations, through random germination testing on consignments to verify that the rice is not viable. All costs associated with verification germination testing is liable to the importer.
  

Who does this alert affect?
This notice is of interest to clients, brokers and agents who import parboiled rice for human consumption.

Import Permits:
Current import permit holders may wish to submit a permit variation through BICON where imported goods are able to meet the new requirements for parboiled rice.

Otherwise existing import permit conditions must be followed.

Background:
Parboiling rice, as the name implies, is rice that has been partially boiled (i.e cooked). In practice, the process consists of soaking rough rice in water until it is saturated, draining the excess of water and then steaming or otherwise heating the grain to gelatinize the starch, with subsequent drying and packaging of the grain.

Further information:
Please contact Plant Import Operations on 1800 900 090 or email imports@agriculture.gov.au.