Processing Conditions, Rice Properties, Health and Environment

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Poritosh Roy¹  Takahiro Orikasa²  Hiroshi Okadome¹  Nobutaka Nakamura¹ 

[1] National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Kannondai 2-1-12, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8642, Japan; E-Mails:;School of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Miyagi University, 2-2-1, Hatatate, Taihaku, Sendai 982-0215, Japan; E-Mail:

关键词: rice processing;    rice properties;    CO₂ emission;    health;    environment;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph8061957

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Rice is the staple food for nearly two-thirds of the world’s population. Food components and environmental load of rice depends on the rice form that is resulted by different processing conditions. Brown rice (BR), germinated brown rice (GBR) and partially-milled rice (PMR) contains more health beneficial food components compared to the well milled rice (WMR). Although the arsenic concentration in cooked rice depends on the cooking methods, parboiled rice (PBR) seems to be relatively prone to arsenic contamination compared to that of untreated rice, if contaminated water is used for parboiling and cooking. A change in consumption patterns from PBR to untreated rice (non-parboiled), and WMR to PMR or BR may conserve about 43–54 million tons of rice and reduce the risk from arsenic contamination in the arsenic prone area. This study also reveals that a change in rice consumption patterns not only supply more food components but also reduces environmental loads. A switch in production and consumption patterns would improve food security where food grains are scarce, and provide more health beneficial food components, may prevent some diseases and ease the burden on the Earth. However, motivation and awareness of the environment and health, and even a nominal incentive may require for a method switching which may help in building a sustainable society.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.