Lok Sabha Question No. 1980 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Fortified Rice
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1980

TO BE ANSWERED ON lITH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## FORTIFIED RICE

## 1980, SMT, tIAl+SIM RAT KA UR BADAL :

Will  the Minister of  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND  PUBLIC  DISTItIBUTIC)N be pleased to state:

- (a): whether the  Government  is  aware ,that rice  shellers/millers  in  Punjab are facing  serious operational and financial  difficulties  due to the present  system of  compulsory blending of  Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK)  including  acute non-availability  and delayed supply of FRK,  arising from new testing and approval nouns;
- (b): if  so. whether the Government has received a large number of  representations regarding testing delays, increases in production costs and black marketing;
- (c): the quantity of fortified  rice from  Punjab that has been declared 'beyond rejection limit''  or returned by  Food Corporation of  Indian (PCI) during the last three marketing seasons and the financial  liability imposed on millers  for replacement.  storage and related charges; and
- (d): whether the Government proposes to review  FRK  testing protocols, pricing  etc. and make an assessment on the impact of 1:RK to protect both public health objectives and the viability  of the rice shelling industry and if so. the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI  BAMBHANIYA)

(a) and (b): Till date approx  20 LMIT  of fortified rice  (FR) has been procured  in the state of Punjab during KMS  2025-26. Further, the rice millers/shellers benefit from the revised process, as the quality testing of Fortified  Rice Kernels (FRK)  is now conducted at procurement stage. Earlier, the rice millers/shellers were largely responsible for ensuring the FRK  quality and faced the risk of FR lots  being  affected,  if  samples failed  at  a  later  stage. The  current  system reduces the  overall compliance burden on shellers/rice millers  and streamlines the overall operations.

- (c): The details on the quantity of fortified  rice from  Punjab State that has been declared as Beyond Rejection Limit  (BRL)  or returned by Food Corporation of India (FCI) during last three marketing seasons are as under:

|          |   Quantity of fortified rice stock declared as BRL (in MT) |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2022-23  |                                                    15660   |
| 2023 -24 |                                                     5939.5 |
| 2024-25  |                                                     4379   |

As per existing guidelines, the stock found BRL during the quality assessment is to be replace by the concerned rice agencies/rice  millers on their risk and cost.

- (d): Based on the feedback received from  the states/field implementations, the department has reviewed and streamlined the FRK  testing/quality assurance procedures by  issuing a  SoP on 29.07.2025 and further amending on 06.12.2025.

These revisions strengthen end-to-end testing and oversight to make sure that, only  quality FRK is blended with the conventional rice. This ensures that, the produced FR meets with the notified standards of  FSS AI  and helps to  protect the public  health objectives. The revised procedures also address the operational issues to enable smoother  implementation for rice millers/rice  shelling units.