Sensory and nutritional quality of white rice after residential storage for up to 30 years

Rice is a staple food that may be packaged for long-term storage to ameliorate unpredictable circumstances such as crop failures and natural disasters. The sensory and nutritional quality of 18 samples of long grain white rice (11 regular, 7 parboiled) packaged in cans stored up to 30 years at ambient temperature in residential locations was evaluated. Hedonic scores for overall liking ranged from 5.6 to 6.6 (9-point scale) and all samples regardless of age scored above 5, "neither like nor dislike". All but one 30-year parboiled sample were considered acceptable for everyday use by greater than 50% of panelists, and for emergency use by over 88% of panelists. Thiamin concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 3.6 µg/g. Although vitamin stability appears to be limited, rice retains much of its sensory quality over time and the presence of minerals and other stable macronutrients may justify its inclusion in a long-term food storage regimen.