The U.S. rice industry is in an identity battle, much like the dairy and meat industries are battling plant based labels.
In 2016, USA Rice asked the Food and Drug Administration to establish a standard of identity for rice, but no action has been taken. The industry has been trying for years to prevent products made from crumbled veggies from being labeled as rice, but the FDA says this is not an immediate health concern. The rice industry worries that using the term ‘rice’ on non-rice products is misleading and confusing for consumers.
The FDA has established more than 250 standards of identity since 1939 including ones for milk, peanut butter and ketchup.
