Global Rice News

Rice may soon be able to return to the plates of many Louisianans with the development of a new, more nutritious type of white rice with 53% more protein and a low glycemic index score, which was created and farmed in Acadiana. 

M&S Frugé Farms, a second-generation rice farm in Eunice, engineered and is distributing the new rice, called Parish Rice. The GMO-free rice has a glycemic index score of 41 out of 100, according to the company and the LSU Agriculture Center, which is the lowest of any white rice on the market.

 “I wanted to produce the highest quality rice possible, and I think we’ve done that,” said Michael Frugé, owner of Parish Rice, in a release. “There are so many people whose health could benefit by switching to Parish Rice, and I’m ready to share it with as many folks as I can.”

The low glycemic index score means the rice does not raise a person’s blood sugar as much as other rice brands. Frugé called Parish Rice a “gamechanger for anyone with diabetes” in a video produced by the LSU AgCenter.

The rice is available at parishrice.com.

Frugé founded Parish Rice in 2018 after observing rice qualities in Mexico and Central America. Frugé wanted to take what he learned and improve the quality of rice in the rice

With help from the LSU AgCenter, Frugé grew a rice variety called Frontier, which had high levels of protein and a low glycemic index score. He began by selling the rice to the LSU Athletic Department before reaching out to other student-athletes and health-conscious groups.

Ida Wenefrida, a rice researcher for the LSU AgCenter, said in a video that the rice’s protein will be particularly beneficial for people in areas that rely heavily on rice in their diets.

“Having twice as much protein in the rice that they eat three times a day, yes, it’s going to be a huge benefit,” she said.

When Frugé began producing the rice — originally called Prairie Acadian Rice — he thought the high protein level was the only health benefit. But a lab in Toronto found that the rice had a low glycemic index score of 41, far below the average for white rice, around 72.

The rice was developed at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Rayne. It usually takes around 10 years to create a new rice variety, according to the LSU AgCenter.

Frugé is currently growing around 100 acres of rice with plans to expand. Louisiana’s food culture is known for its reliance on rice, but the state also has high rates of diabetes. 

Louisiana has the fifth highest diabetes mortality rate in the U.S., according to the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station’s newsletter, and Louisiana ranks in the top 10 for obesity in the U.S.
The H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station said in its newsletter that the market for low glycemic rice in the U.S. is about $0.35 billion, and the global market is expected to reach $4.6 billion by 2027.

Source: https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/money/business/2021/12/29/acadiana-farmer-and-lsu-agcenter-develop-new-healthier-variety-white-rice/9032497002/