In order to prevent wrongdoing and improper business activities and to maintain good quality and standards of rice delivered under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), Food Corporation of India (FCI) has introduced a new technology, Mixed Indicator Method, which the Alter of the milled rice stocks upon acceptance.
It mainly prevents millers from mixing old rice with fresh broths.
All paddy sourcing centers will be equipped with the testing equipment and chemicals to perform the age testing method before the milled paddy is accepted across the country.
“Following analysis of other parameters, a five gram age determination sample is taken from raw milled rice. The sample will be subjected to a mixed indicator test,” said FCI Manager Ragal Kiran The Hindu.
He said the FCI had recently introduced the new method and will use it in the subsequent sourcing of rice. The sourcing season would start in Andhra Pradesh from next month, he added.
Only the sample showing the color “green / avocado green” will be accepted. Stock showing any other color development ie yellow, yellow-orange & orange, indicating old stock, will be rejected outright with a note of ‘not freshly ground’.
“Five grams of rice are kept in 10 ml of working solution and shaken for one minute. When the color of the solution turns green or avocado green, the stock is freshly ground and accepted. If the color is yellow or orange, the stock is recognized as old and sorted out.”Ragal KiranFCI manager
Explaining the procedure of the mixed indicator test for age determination, Mr Kiran said: “Five grams of rice are kept in a 10 ml working solution and shaken for one minute. When the color of the solution turns green or avocado green, the stock is freshly ground and accepted. If the color is yellow or orange, the stocks are recognized as old and sorted out.”
“The working solution chemicals include 0.05 grams of methyl red and 0.15 grams of bromothymol blue dissolved in 15 mL of ethyl alcohol and 100 mL of distilled water,” explained Mr. Kiran.
color coding
The FCI identifies different age groups of rice based on color coding. Green in the resulting solution color indicates the rice is fresh and was procured within a month of harvest. If the color is avocado green, the rice is a month or two old. When it turns yellow, it indicates three-month-old rice, and yellow-orange indicates four-month-old and orange five to six-month-old rice.
