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Basmati is a premium long grain variety of rice highly valued for its aroma and flavour and grown exclusively in the northern part of the Western Punjab, in Pakistan and India. Basmati rice demands a premium price as a consequence of its scarcity and popularity, and the adulteration of Basmati rice with cheaper varieties has become an area for potential exploitation. There is a need to develop a method that enables the differentiation of Basmati varieties from other long grain rice in order to ensure consumer protection and for use in regulation of the rice trade.
This project aimed to investigate the possibility that aromatic differences may be sufficient to differentiate between Basmati rice and other long grain varieties. The use of gas sensor technology as a rapid method for characterising and classifying aromas was proposed and research involved evaluating a low-cost portable gas sensor array developed by the NRI.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.