Large-scale, local cultivation of rice has been discontinued for more than two decades and the rice now available on the market is all imported. Some 44,882 metric tonnes of this (termed ‘‘bulk rice’’, which is polished white rice packaged without branding) was imported from Guyana in 2009 accounting for 57% of rice imports. Another 25,266 tonnes was imported from the United States of America (JIS, 2010). In an effort to reduce the dependence on foreign supply of this important staple and consequently to lower the food import bill there has been a recent push to reintroduce farmers to rice cultivation.
A burgeoning health consciousness in some sectors of the public has seen a greater availability of brown rice on the Jamaican market. The fiber and higher vitamins and minerals as a result of the retention of the bran have increased the popularity of this version of the commodity. In addition, parboiled and/or enriched white rice is also available and these methods of processing can be expected to affect the elemental profile of white rice.
Food security is of growing global concern. These concerns include the reliability of supply and the quality of food. Food composition data is necessary when estimating a population’s intake of nutrients and dietary exposure to toxins and indeed, assessing diet quality. This paper examines the elemental content of rice available on the market and therefore, its contribution to the Jamaican public’s nutrition. Some Jamaican soils are naturally enriched in toxic elements such as arsenic, cadmium and mercury (Lalor et al., 1999). If local rice cultivation is to resume, it is vital that the uptake of toxic elements and nutrients is assessed. The analysis of locally grown rice from field trials allows preliminary estimates to be made toward achieving this objective.