Original article A study on the acceptability and consumer attitude towards parboiled rice Riana Jorda ˜ o Barrozo Heinemann, Jorge Herman Behrens & Ursula Maria Lanfer-Marquez* Departamento de Alimentos e Nutric¸a˜o Experimental, Faculdade de Cieˆncias Farmaceˆuticas, Universidade de Sa˜o Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 580, CEP 05508-900 – Sa˜o Paulo, SP, Brazil (Received 12 May 2005; Accepted in revised form 3 October 2005) Summary Despite nutritional claims and other advantages that parboiled rice possesses, its consumption is still low in Brazil mainly because of the local preference for milled rice. In the first part of this study, the acceptability of five commercial brands of parboiled and milled rice was assessed by 100 consumers and similar acceptance levels were observed, evidencing that consumers might not reject parboiled rice for its sensory properties. In the second part, 286 consumers were surveyed about their eating habits and attitude towards rice, focusing especially the nutritional value, sensory and convenience aspects of parboiled rice. In the survey 35% of the respondents were unaware of parboiled rice. Cluster analysis performed on data grouped consumers in one segment with positive attitude and in two other segments with negative attitude towards parboiled rice. Segmentation was mainly because of negative beliefs about the sensory characteristics of the product, although its nutritional claims were unknown to most respondents, revealing the need of marketing efforts focused on informing consumers the health benefits and convenience of eating parboiled rice. Keywords Attitude, consumer, parboiled rice, sensory evaluation. Introduction Rice is a staple crop in Orient and it is also highly valued in Latin America and Caribe. Brazil is the most important consumer outside Asia and is currently the world’s tenth largest producer, with 10.5 million tons in 2003 (FAOSTAT, 2003). In Brazil, the annual rice consumption is around 39.2 kg per capita (International Rice Institute (IRRI), 2004) and, in general, the pre- ference is for long grain milled rice known as ‘agulhinha’. The consumption of parboiled rice is not homo- geneously distributed among the states and strong regional differences have been observed. In the southern States of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina rice is eaten mainly in the parboiled form, although in Sa˜o Paulo, the biggest Brazilian market, consumption of milled rice prevails (Amato et al., 2002). Milled rice has the bran layer removed and the result is a polished white kernel, which has partially lost its micronutrients like some minerals and vitamins (Juliano & Bechtel, 1985; Heinemann et al., 2005). Parboiled rice is produced by grain soaking, pressure steaming, drying and milling. This process increases yield by minimising rice breakage and rice infestation by insects and by producing a homogeneous product with higher micro- nutrient contents (Bhattacharya, 1985; Juliano & Bechtel, 1985). As a consequence of the hydrothermal process, parboiled rice presents a pale yellowish colour, grains with a harder texture, even after cooking, and a typical flavour, although the extension of these altera- tions depends on the severity of the treatment applied (Bhattacharya, 1985; Ramesh et al., 2000). In a recent study carried out in Ghana by Tomlins et al. (2005), local consumers reported higher acceptance of imported parboiled rice in comparison with the locally produced one, demonstrating that differences in process could result in different degrees of acceptability. According to Juliano (1985–1986), parboiled rice ensures firmer and more separated grains and is favoured by consumers in India and Pakistan. Even so, in Japan and other countries with temperate climate, ‘japonica’ varieties, characterised by an adhesive and softer texture, are the most valued. Herein, not only the differences in the sensory characteristics between parboiled and milled rice but also the lack of opportunities consumers usually have had to try parboiled rice and to know about their attributes, seem to be a hindrance in changing eating habits. Therefore, a study concerning both, acceptance *Correspondent: Fax: +55 11 3815 4410; e-mail: lanferum@usp.br International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2006, 41, 627–634 627 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2005.01118.x Ó 2006 Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund