The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has acquired a rice quality analyzer (RQA) aimed at strengthening government efforts to enforce Philippine rice standards and establish technical benchmarks that could eventually distinguish locally produced rice from imported varieties.
In a report submitted to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., BPI Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban said the purchase supports the implementation of Republic Act No. 12078, the amended Agricultural Tariffication Law, through the agency’s Plant Product Safety Services Division (PPSSD).
The law mandates the BPI to strengthen its rice quality analysis capability through the acquisition and use of advanced testing equipment such as the RQA.
According to Panganiban, the analyzer is capable of evaluating multiple rice quality parameters, including grain size, percentage broken, milling degree or bran retention rate, average length-width ratio, mixing rate, chalkiness rate, wax white rate, heavy chalkiness rate, chalkiness degree, embryo retention rate, yellow rice rate, dark yellow rate, and spot rate.
“The generated data will also serve as technical reference in determining rice quality classification.”
“The primary objective of this capability is to support the assessment of rice compliance with the applicable Philippine National Standards,” Panganiban said. “The generated data will also serve as technical reference in determining rice quality classification and in identifying possible indicators that may distinguish local from imported rice, subject to validation and correlation with established reference data.”
Tiu Laurel said the new testing capability would help the Department of Agriculture (DA) protect consumers and legitimate industry players from rice adulteration, misbranding, misclassification, and other deceptive market practices.
“It will give the DA stronger teeth against rice adulteration, mislabeling, and other deceptive practices by providing science-based evidence that can stand up in investigations and prosecution of violators.”
“It will give the DA stronger teeth against rice adulteration, mislabeling, and other deceptive practices by providing science-based evidence that can stand up in investigations and prosecution of violators,” Tiu Laurel said.
The acquisition comes as the DA intensifies efforts to stabilize rice prices and improve market monitoring following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order imposing a P50-per-kilo price ceiling on imported rice amid the national energy emergency.
The PPSSD is continuing inspections and monitoring activities in markets, warehouses, and other points across the rice supply chain to gather quality data that could support future policy actions and enforcement operations.
In coordination with the DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service and Consumer Affairs unit, the BPI said monitoring data generated through the analyzer would also support enforcement actions against traders and retailers found violating rice quality, labeling, and classification regulations.
