Green Labelled Rice Shows a Higher Nutritional and Physiochemical Quality Than Conventional Rice in China

Abstract

In China, green food refers to a wide array of certified agricultural and processed edible commodities that are produced strictly following defined standard protocols and labelled with a specified “Green Food” logo. The demand for green labelled rice is rapidly growing due to its higher quality and adherence to safety standards compared to conventional rice. Therefore, the physicochemical and nutritional quality of green rice needs to be further investigated for consumers’ benefits. Using Daohuaxiang 2, one of the most famous types of green rice, we found that green rice was significantly superior to conventional rice in terms of thousand kernel weight, chalkiness, amylose content, and rheological properties. Green rice contained lower levels of heavy metals than conventional rice due to a dramatic reduction in chemical inputs during its cultivation. The concentrations of Cr, As, Cd, Pb in green rice decreased, respectively, from 98.7 to 180.1 μg/kg, 49.8 to 62.3 μg/kg, 7.8 to 9.1 μg/kg, and 29.0 to 42.8 μg/kg on average. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based metabolomics, in combination with multivariate analysis, revealed that 15 metabolites differentially accumulated when comparing green and conventional rice. Among these, 12 metabolites showed a high accumulation in green rice, including seven amino acids, two sugars, and three fatty acids. Overall, our results suggest the superior quality of a type of green rice that is popular in China, which may boost green rice consumption and facilitate the further expansion of green rice production in China.

Comparison of quality of appearance, cooking quality, and protein content of green‐labeled rice and conventional rice

“…Green-labled food was obtained using limited and controlled quantities of fertilizers (Moruzzo et al, 2020). It was reported that the green production category reduced chemical nitrogen fertilizers by 50% compared with fertilization levels used by local farmers (Xu et al, 2020(Xu et al, , 2021. Hence, the adoption of green food production systems with controlled levels of fertilizers was beneficial to chalky traits.…”

“…Increasingly more consumers are purchasing green food, spurring a boom in the green food market, with a growth of nearly 300% since 2011 (Tong et al, 2020). In China, green food refers to a wide array of certified agricultural and processed edible commodities that are produced strictly following defined standard protocols and labeled with a specified “Green Food” logo (Xu et al, 2021). According to the green food statistics annual report by the China Green Food Development Center in 2019, more than 5351 batches of rice were certified green.…”

“…Consumers are poorly informed about the quality of green‐labeled rice in the market. Xu et al (2021) found that green‐labeled rice was significantly superior to conventional rice in terms of thousand kernel weight, chalkiness, amylose content, and rheological properties.…”

Chinese Consumers’ Trust in Food Safety Surveillance Sampling of Commonly Consumed Foods

“…Consumers of commonly consumed foods are particularly concerned. To this end, the states have developed and introduced a series of food standards to ensure consumer safety [4][5][6]. By 2020, a food safety supervision system based on risk analysis and supply chain management has been established, and major regional and systemic food safety risks have been controlled.…”

Editorial for the Special Issue, “Quality Assay, Processing and Bio-Function of Rice Products”

“…Despite the growing interest in green rice, there is limited information about its quality. Xu et al [ 8 ], in ‘Green Labelled Rice Shows a Higher Nutritional and Physiochemical Quality Than Conventional Rice in China’, showed, using the Daohuaxiang 2 variety, very interesting results regarding physical features, chemical composition and rheological properties. Physical treatments of cereals allow for modifying grains’ properties, and is a very interesting alternative to obtaining new products.…”