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Pursuant to the powers granted to the National Food Authority (NFA) under Section 6 (a) sub par viii of P.D. 4, as amended, and the pertinent provisions of the Rules and Regulations on Grains Business, and to protect the public interest and promote the general welfare as mandated by Republic Act 7394, otherwise known as the Consumers Act of the Philippines, the LETTER-CIRCULAR No. AO-97-08-001 dated July 23, 1997, titled “National Grains Standards for Rice and Corn, is hereby reiterated. This is also in pursuant to the Covenant signed during the Multi-Sectoral Groups of the Rice Industry dialogue on February 22, 2013.

For your information, the salient features in the Circular are as follows:

COMMODITY STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS

A. General Requirements

1. The moisture content of a given rice and corn commodity shall not exceed 14% on “as received” basis.
2. The commodity shall be free from objectionable and foreign odors, live insect pests and other contaminants.
3. The commodity shall not contain chemical residues in excess of the maximum limits recommended by the joint FAO-WHO CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION.
4. In the case of shelled corn and corngrits, aflatoxin content shall not exceed the maximum level recommended by the FAO-WHO-CONDEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION which is 20 ppb for human food and 50 ppb for animal feeds. Appropriate procedures must be observed in the final disposition of rejected shelled corn and corngrits.

B. Standard Specifications for Palay

1. Classification

Palay shall be classified into types on the basis of the size of brown rice grain as follows:

1.1 Very Long Grain
1.2 Long Grain
1.3 Medium Grain
1.4 Short Grain

2. Palay Variety

This refers to the category/species of palay denoting its genetic characteristics whether it is traditional variety (i.e. Intan, Raminad, etc.) or modern variety which is a result of genetic improvement or interbreeding of different varieties (i.e. C-4, IR Series, BPI Series, PSB Series, etc.).

Special variety palay shall be graded and designated according to the grade requirements of the standard and shall be identified under a specific variety such as Dinorado, Sigadis, Milagrosa, Sampaguita, Sinandomeng, Kalinayan, Baysilanon, and other varieties certified by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).

3. Grading

Palay shall conform with the grade requirements specified in the following:

GRADE	(% BY WEIGHT) PURITY, MIN.	(% BY WEIGHT) FOREIGN MATTER, MAX.
PREMIUM	98	2
GRADE NO. 1	95	5
GRADE NO. 2	90	10
GRADE NO. 3	85	15

 

C. Standard Specifications for Milled Rice

1. Classification

Milled rice shall be classified into types based on the size of the whole grain and the degree of milling as follows:

1.1	Size
	1.1.1	Very Long Grain
	1.1.2	Long Grain
	1.1.3	Medium Grain
	1.1.4	Short Grain
1.2	Degree of Milling
	1.2.1	Overmilled Rice
	1.2.2	Well milled rice
	1.2.3	Regular Milled
	1.2.4	Undermilled Rice.

2. Rice Variety

This refers to the category/species of palay from which processed or milled rice was derived denoting its genetic characteristics whether it is traditional variety not belonging to special variety rice or a result of genetic improvement/ hybridization.

Traditional variety shall include all other indigenous or native varieties not included in the listing of special palay or rice. (i.e., Intan Raminad).

Modern variety shall include genetically improved palay varieties exemplified by the IR-series, BPI series, PSB series and their common names.

Special rice includes glutinous, aromatic rice and those with excellent eating and nutritive quality.

3. Grading

Milled rice shall conform with the grade requirements specified in the following:

GRADE	(% BY WEIGHT) HEAD RICE, MIN.	(% BY WEIGHT) BROKENS INCLUDING BREWERS, MAX.
PREMIUM	95	5
GRADE NO. 1	90	10
GRADE NO. 2	85	15
GRADE NO. 3	75	25
GRADE NO. 4	65	35
GRADE NO. 5	55	45

D. Standard Specifications for Shelled Corn

Shelled Corn-corn kernels, mainly of either dent or flint varieties of the plant Zea mays. It is also known as maize or “corn grain”.

1. Type

1.1 White
1.2 Yellow Corn
1.3 Mixed Corn

2. Classification

2.1 Flint
2.2 Dent

E. Standard Packaging and Labeling for Milled Rice and Shelled Corn

COMMODITY CLASSIFICA TION AND GRADE	PACKAGING			LABELING
	PACKAGE SIZE (KG)	TYPE OF MATERIAL	COLOR OF PACKAGING MATERIAL	REQUIRED INFORMATION
A. BIG PACKAGE	15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 (MULTIPLES OF 5)	WOVEN POLYPROPYLENE (WPP), NON-TRANSPARENT OR TRANSPARENT TYPE		- CLASSIFICATION (i.e., WHETHER WELL MILLED, REGULAR MILLED OR UNDER MILLED FOR RICE) - VARIETY (OPTIONAL EXCEPT FOR SPECIAL RICE) - GRADE (I.e. WHETHER PREMIUM GRADE, GRADE NOS. 1, 2, 3, 4 OR 5) - NET WEIGHT (KG) - NAME AND ADDRESS OF MILLER - NAME AND ADDRESS OF OWNER (IN CASE OF CUSTOM MILLING) - IRON FORTIFIED RICE (IF APPLICABLE)
- SPECIAL RICE			SKY BLUE
- PREMIUM GRADE RICE			LIGHT YELLOW
- WELL MILLED RICE GRADE NO. 1 GRADE NOS. 2, 3, 4 OR 5 (SUPER)			WHITE
- REGULAR MILLED RICE GRADE NOS. 2, 3, 4 OR 5			WHITE
- UNDER MILLED RICE GRADE NOS. 2, 3, 4 OR 5 (ORDINARY)	ONE (1) CAVAN OF RICE OR CORN COMMODITY SHALL BE A UNIT CONTAINING FIFTY (50) KILOGRAMS NET WEIGHT OF SUCH COMMODITY. THE WORDS “WHEN PACKED” AND “AS PACKED” FOLLOWING THE NET WEIGHT SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED.		WHITE TRANSPARENT WPP SACKS SHALL BE FULLY OR PARTIALLY COLOR-CODED FOR SPECIAL AND PREMIUM GRADE RICE BUT SHALL BE STRICTLY COLORED WHITE FOR OTHER GRADES. HOWEVER, THE COLOR-CODED PORTION SHALL BE DOMINANT IN PROPORTION WITH THE BACKGROUND.
- SHELLED CORN PREMIUM GRADE, GRADE NOS. 1, 2, OR 3 (ORDINARY)		WOVEN POLYPROPYLENE	LIGHT GREEN	-CLASSIFICATION (I.E. WHETHER WHITE OR YELLOW CORN AND FLINT OR DENT CORN FOR SHELLED CORN) - GRADE (I.E. WHETHER PREMIUM GRADE, GRADE NOS. 1, 2, OR 3) - NET WEIGHT (KG)
B. SMALL PACKAGE	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 OR FRACTION THEREOF (E.G. 2.5, 5.5, 12.5, ETC.)	POLYETHYLENE, PAPER OF CARTON	POLYETHYLENE BAGS MAY NOT BE COLORCODED. HOWEVER, COLOR-CODED PAPER CORRESPONDING TO THE CLASSIFICATION AND GRADE OF THE COMMODITY (REFER TO COLOR-CODING OF BIG PACKAGES) MAY BE INSERTED INSIDE THE PACKAGE	THE REQUIRED INFORMATION SHALL BE PRINTED IN BOLD LETTERS ON THE COLOR-CODED SACKS AND CONTAINERS FOR MILLED RICE AND SHELLED CORN, BOTH FOR BIG AND SMALL PACKAGES.

 

PARTICULARS	STANDARDS REQUIREMENT
1. SIZE OF PRICE TAG (LENGTH X WIDTH)	28 CM X 21.5 CM FOR BIG RICE BOXES (LEGAL SIZE BOND PAPER) 21.5 CM X 16.5 CM FOR SMALLER BOXES (1/2 LEGAL SIZE BOND PAPER)
2. COLOR OF PRICE TAG
- SPECIAL RICE	SKY BLUE
- PREMIUM GRADE RICE	LIGHT YELLOW
- WELL MILLED RICE GRADE 1 GRADE NOS. 2, 3, 4 OR 5 (SUPER)	WHITE
- REGULAR MILLED RICE GRADE NOS. 2, 3, 4 OR 5	WHITE
- UNDER MILLED RICE GRADE NOS. 2, 3, 4 OR 5 (ORDINARY)	WHITE
SHELLED CORN PREMIUM GRADE, GRADE NOS. 1, 2, OR 3 (ORDINARY)	LIGHT GREEN
3. COLOR OF PRINT ON PRICE TAG	BLACK
4. PRESCRIBED INFORMATION	PRICE PER KILOGRAM (P/KG) CLASSIFICATION VARIETY (OPTIONAL EXCEPT FOR SPECIAL RICE) IRON-ENRICHED RICE (STARTING 2004) GRADE

NOTE:

1. Unpacked milled rice and corn for retail must be displayed in white painted rice/corn boxes which shall be free of posters/advertisements. The prescribed color-coded price tag shall be conspicuously displayed on the grains box.

2. The required information shall be printed in bold letters and figures (except the symbol kg) on the color-coded price tag.

For further details, please visit NFA website www.nfa.gov.ph.

Any violation and/or non-compliance with this Letter Circular shall subject the offender to the penalties imposed under Section 29 of the Act promulgated under P.D. 4, as amended, and other pertinent laws, notwithstanding the provisions of any law and regulations to the contrary.

This is for strict compliance.

(SGD.) ORLAN A. CALAYAG
Administrator