Commercially available rice samples were purchased from
supermarkets in the parish of St. Andrew, Jamaica in February
2010. This parish was ideal for sampling as a significant portion of
the Jamaican population resides there. While bulk rice is readily
available across the island, other rice brands sampled are typically
not sold outside the Kingston Metropolitan Area (which includes
the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew), and indeed the other
brands of rice available on the market change from time to time but
were representative of the brands available at the time of
sampling. A minimum of 500 g of each rice brand was collected.
A composite sample of locally grown rice produced in the parish of
St. Catherine was also obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries.