Evaluation of the chemical composition and sensory quality of parboiled local and imported milled rice varieties marketed in south-east zone of Nigeria

Rice imported into Nigeria is generally perceived to be of higher quality nutritionally than local rice which has caused low patronage and low market share for local rice. It is therefore essential to compare the nutritional composition and sensory quality of these local and imported rice varieties to verify the perceived claims. Eighteen local and 3 imported rice varieties coded Ip1, Ip2 and Ip3, were evaluated for proximate, mineral and sensory properties using standard methods. All the local rice varieties had significant (p 0.05) different from Omor-Mas (3.50 %). The imported rice varieties had higher carbohydrate content (72.20-76.21%) though all the rice varieties had high carbohydrate content (67.72-76.21%). Local parboiled rice were extremely rich in phosphorus (235.02-421.01 mg/L), magnesium (106.32-296.12 mg/L), potassium (109.01-238.02 mg/L) and sodium (124.01-169.01 mg/L) though Ip1 and Ip3 had the highest phosphorus (550.01 mg/L) and potassium content (260.01 mg/L) respectively. Eighty-eight percent (88.89%) of the local rice varieties were not significantly (p >0.05) different from the imported rice varieties in their sensory overall acceptability. Different percentages of the local rice varieties were better than the imported rice varieties in protein, ash, magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium, manganese and sodium. This knowledge is expedient to educate, increase patronage of local rice and enhance value addition.   Keywords: Oryza sativa L, proximate composition, mineral composition, imported rice, local rice.