PATH has successfully introduced the Ultra Rice® technology to India, Brazil, and Colombia.

India

In 2008, PATH successfully transferred the Ultra Rice technology to Swagat Food Products (P) Ltd., a pasta manufacturer located in West Bengal. In partnership with Swagat, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the Naandi Foundation, PATH supplied Ultra Rice to Naandi’s centralized kitchen in Vishakhapatnam, India. There, rice fortified with iron-enriched Ultra Rice was served daily for one school year to 60,000 children under the government-sponsored Mid-day Meal Scheme. A similar introduction pilot is under way with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which operates the largest school lunch program in the world. Three of Akshaya Patra’s large-scale kitchens now add Ultra Rice to their rice-based meals—bringing the benefits of rice fortification to 185,000 schoolchildren each day. PATH plans to replicate this model with additional kitchens serving the Mid-day Meal Scheme.

The Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, continues to generously support the Ultra Rice project in India. In 2007, it funded a small-scale efficacy study and is now considering a large-scale effectiveness study to ensure similar impact at scale.

Brazil

In 2009, PATH transferred the Ultra Rice technology to Adorella Alimentos Ltda, a pasta manufacturer located in São Paulo. Municipal governments in three states (Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, and Ceará) now serve Ultra Rice grains in school lunch programs that reach approximately 54,000 schoolchildren daily. To ensure pilot expansion and sustainability, PATH is helping to establish several state-level alliances as well as a center of excellence for Ultra Rice at the Federal University of Viçosa, which will support strategic expansion of the supply base for Ultra Rice throughout the Latin American region. Technical staff at the university will collaborate closely with Brazil’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

Colombia

PATH transferred the Ultra Rice technology in 2005 to Unión de Arroceros S.A., a rice miller in Colombia. Arroceros now imports Ultra Rice grains from PATH’s manufacturing partner in Brazil and blends them with their traditional rice supplies. The city of Medellin is eager to resume serving rice fortified with Ultra Rice within its school lunch program, which serves 66,000 children daily. Several other Colombian municipalities have also expressed interest in pursuing effectiveness trials with Ultra Rice. In addition, the government is considering a mandate for fortified rice.

Ultra Rice is a registered trademark of Bon Dente International, Inc., in the United States.