SIC 2044 Rice Milling

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2044

This industry comprises establishments that clean, polish, or process rice. Principal products include rice flour, rice meal, white rice, brown rice, and rice bran. The growing of rice is discussed under SIC 0112: Rice.

NAICS CODE(S)

311212

Rice Milling

One of the smaller segments of U.S. grain milling, rice milling was worth roughly $1.7 billion in 2001, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Because rice growing is concentrated heavily in the southern and western United States, most of the U.S. rice mills operate in these regions. Actually, six states produce 99 percent of all rice grown in the United States: Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas.

At an average of 26.3 pounds per person in 2002, per capita rice consumption has doubled since the late 1970s. The U.S. Rice Producers Association estimates that nearly 90 percent of this consumption is domestic rice. Increases reflect the product's nutritional merits, low cost, and consumer appeal. Marketed as a healthy food, rice contains only trace amounts of fat and naturally provides protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorous, iron, and potassium. It is also cholesterol free, gluten free, and low in sodium.

Rice grows to maturity in 100 to 120 days. When rice is harvested, it is first dried for stable storage and then sold to a rice mill. At this stage, the rice is referred to as "paddy" or "rough" rice. Using high-tech machinery, millers shell the rice by removing the inedible hull surrounding each individual grain. Beneath the hull, rice grains still possess seven natural bran layers. In this state, the rice is sold as brown rice, or "polished" to remove the bran and produce white rice kernels. Discarded bran may be used to extract oils or as a food ingredient.

Because polishing rice removes some of the grain's natural ingredients, some millers employ a procedure called "parboiling" to ameliorate nutrient losses. Parboiled rice is soaked in pressurized water, steamed, and dried before milling. In addition to helping grains preserve their nutrients, parboiling helps produce grains that fluff better and are less sticky when cooked. Parboiled grains, however, take longer to cook.

Other rice mill products include brewers rice, enriched rice, and precooked rice. Brewers rice is made of small, broken rice fragments leftover after shelling and polishing and is primarily used by pet food manufacturers and...