25th March,2016 Daily Global Regional,Local Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

8/19/2019 25th March,2016 Daily Global Regional,Local Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global, Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter

1 | w w w . r i c e p l u s s . c o m , w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o s g s p o t . c o m

March 25,2016 Vol 7 Issue II

www.ricepluss.com [email protected] 92 321 36


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Editorial Board

Chief Editor

Hamlik

Managing Editor

Abdul Sattar Shah

Rahmat Ullah

Rozeen Shaukat

English Editor

Maryam Editor

Legal Advisor

Advocate Zaheer Minha

Editorial Associates

Admiral (R) Hamid Kh

Javed Islam Agha

Ch.Hamid Malhi

Dr.Akhtar Hussain

Dr.Fayyaz Ahmad Sidd

Dr.Abdul Rasheed (UA

Islam Akhtar Khan

Editorial Advisory Board

Dr.Malik Mohammad

HashimAssistant Professor, Goma

University DIK

Dr.Hasina GulAssistant Director, Agriculture KP

Dr.Hidayat UllahAssistant Professor, Unive

of Swabi

Dr.Abdul BasirAssistant Professor, Unive

of Swabi

Zahid MehmoodPSO,NIFA Peshawar

Falak Naz ShahHead Food Science &

Technology ART, Peshawar

Today Rice News Headlines...

Ogun customs warns rice smugglers

Agriculture Minister assures of “a comeback in the AgriculturalSector”

Haryana govt suffered Rs 52-cr loss as 19 millers failed to deliver

rice

Rice farmers in Volta ask for technological support

Bloggers Think Rice 1.5 Million Times for National Nutrition

Month

RiceBran Technologies to Host 2015 Full Year Financial Results

Conference Call on March 30th at 4:30 PM EDT

A bagful of Tyrolean hospitality

FSA Food Standards Agency : Netto recalls its Rice Market Basmati

Rice and Rice Market Parboiled Rice due to possible pest

contamination

Pest’ alert leads to supermarket rice recall

News Detail...

Ogun customs warns rice smugglersPosted By: Our Reporteron: March 26, 2016In:

The Ogun State Customs Area Command has declared a zero tolerance forrice smuggling.Speaking during an interactive session with reporters at the

Idiroko Customs Area Command, Comptroller of Customs in Ogun State,

Mr Waindu Multafu said the grace period given to importers who havealready initiated import processes ended yesterday.He said:”In October

2015, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS),Col.

Hameed Ali(rtd) approved the reversal of an earlier policy which allowed

rice imports through the land borders, once appropriate duty and charges

were paid and that policy has really brought so much revenue to thegovernment.


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It is however regrettable that since January 2016, themuch desired revenue from importation of rice

through the land borders started dwindling with

importers blaming access to forex as major

impedimets.”He added:”It should also be noted that

credible intelligence sources revealed that thedwindling revenue from rice imports through the land

borders do not match the volume of rice landed inneighbouring ports. Rather, it indicated an increase in

rice smuggling, hence, the need to re-impose the

restriction on rice coming through our land borders.“Therefore, all officers and men of Ogun Area Command are enjoined to adhere strictly to this

new directive and ensure zero tolerance to rice imports through our land borders irrespective of

the volume as defaulters shall be sanctioned appropriately.”

Tags:smugglers

http://thenationonlineng.net/ogun-customs-warns-rice-smugglers/

Agriculture Minister assures of “a comeback in the

Agricultural Sector” John Baimba Sesay-China

Sierra Leone has a vision of making the agriculture sector

the „engine‟ for socio-economic growth and development

through commercial agriculture and the promotion of private sectorinvestment in it. In a 2009 address to the

Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, President Ernest Bai

Koroma said the goal was for us to move away from

“subsistence to commercial agriculture, agro-processing,

adding value to our agricultural products and realizing

maximum benefit from the richness of our soil.”

During the 2010 Business Bomba Competition Final, the

President called for a rise in agricultural production,

productivity, and competitiveness in the sector “because it

touches the lives of so many Sierra Leoneans.” Since then,

government has taken the sector as one of several priority

sectors, in the country‟s drive to sustainable

development. The sector accounts for 70 percent of the country‟s labor force and

http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/


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contributes over 40% to Gross Domestic Product. However, the Ebola outbreak in the second

half of 2014 adversely affected production and productivity. The country‟s Ebola Recovery

Strategy, says “the total national crop production of 2.09 million tons in 2014 was a decrease of

about five percent from production levels in 2013. Production of the main staple crop, rice, is

estimated to have declined by eight percent.”

What is being done to remedy this challenge, given the tremendous resources Government has

put into the sector? Professor Patrick Monty Jones is Sierra Leone‟s Minister of Agriculture,

Forestry and Food Security. Being the only African member of the Board of theChinese Academy

of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), he was recently in Beijing for the 4th International Advisory

Board Meeting of CAAS from the 17th-18th March,2016. He has been a member of the Board

since his days at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa.

CAAS meets annually. The 2016 meeting looked at the program of CAAS and discussed how it

could collaborate with International Institutions. In this interview, Professor Jones elaborateson the vision of His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma for the agriculture sector. He also

assures of “a comeback in the agricultural sector”

F ir st, he explains how his meeting in China could benefi t Sierra Leone especiall y in the

country’s dr ive to sustainable development through the agricultu re sector”

Minister: It would enhance strong collaboration with Africa and with Sierra Leone in particular

because I am the only African in the Board. And they gave me a list of 17 areas of possible

collaboration which includes fellowships and that is the first thing that I would want to pursue.

Fellowships would benefit Sierra Leonean youths that want to come for their first or higher

degrees. They want to collaborate with us in various aspects of Rice Research, Rice

Development Programs, Rice Production and Adding Value to commodities like rice, etc. In that

regard, I think this will be of considerable benefit to Sierra Leone. It will be of considerable

benefit to them also since when you collaborate it is going to be a win-win situation. We looked

at the possibility of establishing a Rice Farm in Africa. CAAS is in a position to give assistance.

Sierra Leone is in a position to receive assistance and at the same time, to render services to

CAAS that will eventually make CASS a beneficiary as well.

Baimba: Following your appointment as M in ister, you went on a tour across Sierr a Leone.

Why was that? Minister: There were a lot of issues. The tour was to carry out sensitization and familiarization.

I have gone to the 14 Districts of the country, including the Urban and Rural Areas. The farmers

are making demands from government on issues related to use of machinery, supply of

fertilizers; etc. There are a lot of other issues they brought up to me for discussions. I took the


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opportunity of talking to not just the farmers but also Researchers, Agriculturists, ministry

personnel, NGOs, Donors, etc, explaining the vision of His Excellency the President particularly

to the farmers and to those involve in agricultural production.

Baimba: You menti oned the President’s vision for the sector. What i s it?

Minister: The vision of His Excellency the President is to increase production and productivity.

Our productivity is very low even compared to other countries in Africa. Even when we were at

the same point with Mali, some years back, Mali‟s stable food -rice is getting something like 4

tons per hectare and we are still talking about 1.2 tons per hectare in lowland system and 1.2

tons per hectare in upland system. So we need to do what we should do, to promote agricultural

development. In fact, we are going to take commodity by commodity to see how we can work

through the value chain to increase production and productivity. Through the value chain

means, we have to go from Research, to Extension, to Adaption, to Value Addition to Market.

The commodities we are going to target are rice, our stable food, then cassava and sweet potatoand cash crops, including cocoa, coffee, oil palm, ginger and cashew, and poultry, cattle and

forestry a s well. We‟ll look into all of these commodities and first of all, try to ensure self

sufficiency in each of them and find ways of adding value to them for international and domestic

markets.

Baimba: Great plans, but what about granting loans and supply of f ert il izers to farmers where

possible?

Minister: Part of the message we have been passing to the farmers is like encouraging them,

giving them hope that there is a brighter future for them and for agricultural development.

Generally, we tend to be misguid ed sometimes. I will say when we‟re talking about machinery,

people think of big combined harvesters, big tractors, etc. But I feel that with the sizes of farms

in Sierra Leone (two hectares, maximum five hectares), only occasionally do you have the big

time farmers that go above 50 hectares, a thousand hectares, etc. Until you have 20, 000-50, 000

hectares, you don‟t need combined harvesters or big tractors. Rather, you need power tillers,

small threshers, etc. These are the kinds of machinery that we‟ll bring to the farmers this time, as

well as making available to them fertilizers and seedlings.

And talking about loans, that is why we created the Apex Bank. In fact, we have a project that I

just signed off on from which will be making something like 12 million dollars available to the Apex Bank so that the Apex Bank will pass on that money to what we call the Financial Services

Agencies and then the Community Banks. These Community Banks would now pass on these

loans to farmers.

Baimba: But how eff ective are these Communi ty Banks?


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Minister: Some of the Community Banks were not giving loans to the farmers. They prefer giving

these loans to traders and others because our farmers have defaulted in paying back in the past.

So one of my messages going round was to talk to them to pay back their loans; talk to them not

to be afraid to take loans. All those big American or Japanese Farmers you see started by taking

loans. But you must have that discipline to be able to pay back your loan for the fund to be

revolving and getting back to other people. The first thing is to make sure that we make available

those machinery that the farmers want and we are concentrating on that.

Baimba: How strategically positi oned is your ministry in the post Ebola recovery plan?

Minister: His Excellency the President, apart from the Agenda for Prosperity, has come up with

the Presidential Post Ebola Recovery Plan. Agriculture is heavily involved in that plan. We are

looking at two very important results- improving agricultural production and productivity and

enhancing commercial agriculture. We had three additional results. If we pursue those things,

we‟ll begin to see a comeback in the agricultural sector. Why import rice when you have the facility to grow enough rice in the country? Why import onion which can grow and in one season

you can meet the demand of the country and have a surplus? Why import vegetable oil when you

can grow crops that will enable you to produce your own oil? Even from oil palm, we can get

vegetable oil as well. Stop the importation, as much as possible reduce it to the minimum

because there‟ll always be some level of importation. But you don‟t have to spend US $156

million annually to import rice. And only about 12% of our cultivable area in the country is

under cultivation today.

Baimba: Research is crucial i n ensuring a comeback i n the sector. What is the li nk between

your mini stry and the Sierra L eone Agricul tural Research I nstitu te (SLARI )?

Minister: SLARI is a quasi governmental institution and it is under the umbrella of the ministry.

We‟re working closely with them. We‟ve discussed their strategy and how they should adopt

what we call the value chain approach, mentioned earlier. At every stage of the value chain,

SLARI has got a role to play; to identify what are the key commodities, what are the pathways

for adoption, what are the pathways to the market and how do we increase yield of those

commodities, etc. SLARI should not work in isolation of other entities like Extension,

Engineering and all of those groups. They should work together in a much more collaborative,

integrated fashion and in much more innovative ways and approaches that will ensure maximumimpact on the ground. SLARI is going to play its role and all these trips I made to every corner

of the country, SLARI has been there with me.

Baimba: I f you shoul d have a 24 months target in your new job, what shoul d the publi c

expect?


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Minister: We are vigorously trying to see how we can be self- sufficient in rice. I‟m looking at

that same period, towards end of 2018 when we‟ll say yes, we‟ve been able to attain food self

sufficiency and be able to flood our markets with domestic rice. We‟re looking at coming up with

a big project by September-November this year. The investor just left Sierra Leone. He wants to

come and cultivate 100,000 hectares of rice, engage 17-20,000 farm families. But that‟ll

eventually affect about 85-100,000 farming communities in Sierra Leone. That‟ll make

tremendous improvement. He wants to use irrigated scheme, and he is looking

at Tormabom area and we‟re trying to convince him to also look between Lunsar and Makeni,

there is a span of bolilands, so that we can see how we increase production and productivity.

Photo: Professor Monty Jones and the Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture.

http://www.salonemonitor.net/agriculture-minister-assures-of-a-comeback-in-the-agricultural-sector/

Haryana govt suffered Rs 52-cr loss as 19 millers failed to

deliver riceThe report states that in case of HAIC, physical verification reports were not

available whereas in case of HSWC, physical verification reports were

deficient.

Written by Sanjeev Verma | Chandigarh | Published:March 26, 2016 3:13 am

Haryana government

suffered a loss of Rs.

52.06 crore since 19

millers did not deliver

1.64 lakh quintal of rice

out of the total 8.45 lakh

quintal of paddy allotted

to them for the three

Kharif marketing seasons

http://indianexpress.com/profile/author/sanjeev-verma/http://indianexpress.com/profile/author/sanjeev-verma/http://indianexpress.com/profile/author/sanjeev-verma/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/decoding-poverty-nabarangpur-produces-enough-rice-for-itself-and-more/http://indianexpress.com/profile/author/sanjeev-verma/


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from 2012-13 to 2014-2015, according a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.The

CAG report tabled in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha last week pointed out that misappropriation of

paddy was facilitated due to non-adherence to guidelines of the state government and non-

obtaining of proper guarantee in the shape of FDR(fixed deposit receipt)/bank guarantee for the

milling of paddy. The other reason cited by CAG for misappropriation of paddy is poor

monitoring of the paddy stored in millers’ premises.

The CAG observed that the procuring agencies, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation (HAIC)

and Haryana State Warehousing Corporation(HSWC), though presented the post dated cheques

kept as guarantee for the paddy of 11 millers who defaulted in delivery of rice but these cheques

bounced and FIRs were lodged against millers for misappropriation of paddy.At the same time,

the auditor noticed that HAIC had lost over Rs 7.8 crore due to “unscientific and improper

preservation of wheat”. The audit stated that the Food Corporation of India had not taken over

5,974.85 Metric Tonnes of wheat for crop years 2010-12 due to damage caused by unscientific

storage and were unfit for human consumption and even as cattle feed.

The report states that in case of HAIC, physical verification reports were not available whereas

in case of HSWC, physical verification reports were deficient. It has also been pointed out that

M/s Bodh Parkash Rohit Kumar Rice Mill at Ambala was given paddy despite not being allotted

by district milling committee. Also, HAIC did not initiate shift paddy from the premises of the

defaulting millers namely M/s Jai Maa Sharda Mills at Naraingarh and M/s Mittal Rice and

General Mill at Ambala, mentions the audit report.

The audit report has brought to fore that the M/s Dayachand Rice Mill in Jind, which comes

under HAIC and was a defaulter miller of earlier Kharif marketing season, was allotted paddy

despite there being clear instructions not to make any paddy allotment to the Mill.Among the

total 19 defaulting rice mills, located in Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Jind, Fatehabad and

Yamunanagar districts, Rs 6 crore is to be recovered from M/s Shree Krishna Agro Food of

Chormatspur in Ambala. A total of over Rs 5 crore is to be recovered from Mohinder Rice Mills

at Ambala and around the same from M/s Jayanti Rice Mill at Kurukshetra.


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http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/haryana-govt-suffered-rs-52-cr-loss-as-19-

millers-failed-to-deliver-rice/#sthash.9WvpKsDV.dpuf

Rice farmers in Volta ask for technological support

Category: General News MARCH 26, 2016 11 0

Rice farmers in the Volta Region have called for

technological support to increase yields towards

meeting increasing local and international

demands.The farmers currently produce only

180,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice a year, the

highest in the country, which is half of their

production capacity.At a two-day workshop under

the auspices of the United States Agency for

International Development’s (USAID) Feed theFuture Agriculture Policy Support Project, the

farmers said they could produce more than 380,000

tonnes a year if they had combine harvesters,

threshers and power tillers.Checks by the Ghana News Agency revealed that apart from a few farmers in

the South of the region, who had those machinery, hundreds of other rice farmers were still relying on

cutlass and hoe for land preparation and sickle and knife for harvesting.

The farmers said with technological support, they could produce and save the country of the about 500

million dollars spent on rice importation annually.Dr. Joseph Ofori, a Research Fellow of the Soil and

Irrigation Research Centre at the University of Ghana, said with efficient technological support, good

nutrients and water management, the Region could achieve sustainable rice production.Walter Nunez-Rodriguez, the Chief of Party of the Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP), also told the GNA that

with improvement in technology Ghana could increase production, reduce import and enhance food

security.In all the 25 districts of the Region, except one, rice is cultivated in low lying areas and

valleys.Out of 281 valleys covering 40.093 hectares, only 26 are being developed, with potentials largely

untapped.The workshop was, thus, to strengthen the capacity of members of the Volta Rice Producers

Network in appreciating the Agricultural policy process in Ghana.

Source: GNA

https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2016/03/26/rice-farmers-in-volta-ask-for-technological-support/

Bloggers Think Rice 1.5 Million Times for National

Nutrition Month

By Colleen Klemczewski

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://i2.wp.com/www.ghanabusinessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Rice.jpgmailto:[email protected]


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CYBERSPACE - In honor of March National Nutrition Month, USA

Rice hosted a two-week campaign with the Healthy Aperture Blogger

Network to spread the U.S. rice message and share delicious rice

recipes with people across the country. The promotion kicked-off March 14 with a blog post on HealthyAperture's website introducing the "Think Rice" theme and the ten top-level bloggers participating.

"These bloggers are comprised of both influential registered dietitians

and healthy living enthusiasts, which broadens the audience exposed to

our messages," said Katie Maher, director of domestic promotion

programs.Each day during the campaign, a new blog post was published

featuring a unique U.S. rice recipe and stunning food photography. The

posts included cooking tips, key USA Rice messages, and often a story

behind the recipe. The bloggers also shared their recipes via social media

using the campaign hashtag #ThinkRice."Nearly 30% of shoppers report

that blogs impact their purchasing decision," said Maher. "So enlistingthis group of powerful food and nutrition bloggers is a great way to

encourage the public to think rice while enhancing USA Rice's recipe

database."

In just two weeks, this blogger initiative generated more than 1.5 million impressions through the

combined blog and social media posts. And to top things off, Maher points out that now USA Rice owns

these healthy, on-trend recipes and images."It's so great to see all the different ways people think rice,"

said Maher. "For example, we now have two takes on risotto - one blogger created a healthy breakfast

risotto with berries and another created a vegan risotto with spring vegetables. Expanding our recipe

library to include rice in different meal parts like breakfast, and to offer vegan recipe ideas is exactly what

we need to do to keep rice fresh and exciting."

Healthy Aperture is a nutrition food blog and photography sharing site founded, and hosted, by registered

dietitians. The Healthy Aperture platform enabled USA Rice to engage with influential food and nutrition

bloggers, get them cooking with U.S. rice, and educate them on important U.S.-grown rice messages that

they in turn share with their readers

RiceBran Technologies to Host 2015 Full Year Financial

Results Conference Call on March 30th at 4:30 PM EDT

Mar 24, 2016, 10:26 ET from RiceBran Technologies

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, March 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ: RIBT and RIBTW) (the "Company" or "RBT"), a global

leader in the production and marketing of value added products derived from rice bran, today

Breakfast ri sotto

http://www.prnewswire.com/news/ricebran+technologieshttp://www.prnewswire.com/news/ricebran+technologieshttp://www.prnewswire.com/news/ricebran+technologieshttp://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=RIBThttp://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=RIBThttp://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=RIBThttp://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=RIBThttp://www.prnewswire.com/news/ricebran+technologies


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announced that W. John Short, Chief Executive Officer & President of RBT, will host aconference call on Wednesday, March 30th at 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss the Company's financial

results for the year ended December 31, 2015.Also joining the call from management will

be Dale Belt - Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Robert Smith - Senior Vice President of Operations &

Business Development and Mark McKnight - Senior Vice President of Sales.

The call information is as follows:

Date: March 30, 2016

Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time

Direct Dial-in number for US/Canada: (201) 493-6780

Toll Free Dial-in number for US/Canada: (877) 407-3982

Dial-In number for international callers: (201) 493-6780

Participants will ask for the RiceBran Technologies 2015 Full Year FinancialResults Call

This call is being webcast by ViaVid and can be accessed

at http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825 .

The call will also be available for replay by

accessing http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825 .

About RiceBran Technologies

RiceBran Technologies is a human food ingredient and functional food company focused on the procurement, bio-refining and marketing of numerous products derived from rice bran. RiceBran

Technologies has proprietary and patented intellectual property that allows us to convert rice

bran, one of the world's most underutilized food sources, into a number of highly nutritioushuman food ingredient and animal nutrition products. Our target markets are human food

ingredients and animal nutrition manufacturers and retailers, as well as natural food, functional

food and nutraceutical supplement manufacturers and retailers, both domestically and

internationally. More information can be found in our filings with the SEC and by visiting ourwebsite athttp://www.ricebrantech.com.

Investor Contact: Ascendant Partners, LLCFred Sommer

+1(732)410-9810

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://www.ricebrantech.com/http://www.ricebrantech.com/http://www.ricebrantech.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ricebrantech.com/http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=118825


12/14



http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ricebran-technologies-to-host-2015-full-year-financial-results-

conference-call-on-march-30th-at-430-pm-edt-573360591.html

A bagful of Tyrolean hospitality

RATHINA SANKARI

Andrea and her family

From soaking in the beauty and history of Innsbruck to sinking her teeth into some delectable

Sacher Torte and cooking sambar for an Austrian family, RATHINA SANKARI sums up the

perfect holiday

The ICE (InterCity Express) whizzed through the countryside as we left behind the tall buildings

of Munich. The landscape changed dramatically, and the bucolic surroundings seemed like theywere straight out of a Bollywood movie. Splashes of red and yellow announced the onset of

autumn, and the much-looked-forward-to cattle festival called Viehscheid. The annual descent of

decorated livestock from their summer alpine pastures is celebrated across the high-altitude

region of Germany and Austria. Across my seat, a septuagenarian gave me some company as he

conversed between his catnaps. A resident of Berlin, he was on his way to a village close toInnsbruck to retrieve his broken-down campervan.

By the time the train chugged into Innsbruck, the overcast skies indicated a wet day ahead. I

checked into Nala, a quirky boutique hotel in the Wilten district, before meeting my guide

Andrea Werwitz, a slim lady with a soft demeanour and warm smile. With rain gear in place, we

http://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/rathina-sankari/http://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/rathina-sankari/


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walked towards the city centre. It had already started to rain, but the downpour hadn’tdeteriorated the spirits of the pedestrians at the Maria-Theresien-Strasse, a bustling street named

after the Empress Maria Theresa. Peppered with impressive monuments like the Triumphal Arch

and St. Anne’s Column along with an array of shops and restaurants, the street is the lifeline of

the Alpine city. Founded in the 12th Century by the Bavarian Counts of Andech, the city derives

its name from the river Inn flowing across it. Innsbruck, meaning bridge across the Inn, has anold-world charm as you pass through the Altstadt, meaning Old Town. After the Andechs died

out, the land passed on to the Counts of Tirol, and by the 14th Century, the county of Tyrol wasruled by the Habsburgs, who continued for the next 650 years.

We took the Nordkettenbahnen cableway to Seegrube, for a panoramic view of Innsbruckthrough the glass gondolas. As we gained height, the weather changed drastically, and it had

started to snow. This year, the mountains had received the first coat of white quite early, and the

pine trees on the slopes were drenched in silver, giving me a Christmassy feeling. Nordpark lay

sprawled like an enchantress, tempting visitors to explore her magic through numerous alpinetrails, skiing, snowboarding or downhill biking. I, however, chose to warm myself with a bowl of

piping hot soup at the Seegrube restaurant.

As we returned to the foothills, we crossed the Imperial Palace that had a huge exhibition to

commemorate the 250th death anniversary of Emperor Francis Stephen of Lorraine. But what

caught my eye was the Imperial Church which houses the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I. Thecenotaph was surrounded by 28 larger-than-life bronze statues of his ancestors, which were made

over a period of 80 years. The national hero Andreas Hofer, who died a brave death fighting

Napoleon’s troops, is buried in the state church.

As Andrea and I bonded over a steaming cuppa and some famous Sacher Torte at Café Sacher,

she told me about her travels and her love for sambar. While she had attempted making the

lentil- based vegetable stew herself, she admitted that it hadn’t turned out well; I offered to makeit for her the next day, if time permitted.

The following morning, after a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, Andrea and I headed

towards the architectural marvel that is the Bergisel Olympic Ski Jump Tower. I was lucky to

spot a show jumper as he slid down the glide. After a short stop at Grassmayr Bell FoundryMuseum and the Ambras Castle, a romantic 16th Century castle, I took a bus to the Swarovski

Crystal Worlds. Daniel Swarovski, founder of the Swarovski Group and a patent holder for a

machine to grind crystal stones to perfection, has left a rich legacy in the world of crystals. To

celebrate the centennial anniversary, Swarovski Crystal Worlds was opened in 1995 at Wattens.The giant exhibition is awe-inspiring, as international artistes have interpreted and showcased

crystal in different forms in its Chambers of Wonder. Tyrol had surprised me with its vasthistory, culture and innovation.

As I made my way back, Andrea invited me home to make sambar. Armed with sambar masala

from the nearby Asian store, Andrea drove me to her beautiful home with bewitching views ofthe Austrian Alps. As I stirred a bubbling pot of sambar, I bonded with her children — a shy boy

of seven and a smart girl of 11. As we sat together and had an early dinner of sambar and


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basmati rice, her husband joined us. Andrea’s daughter watched me eat with my hands and wasintrigued.

A hearty meal later, I bid farewell to the wonderful Werwitz family. Andrea offered to pack mesome rice and sambar for my train journey to Vienna the next day. As I left behind a little bit of

India at Andrea’s place, I carried home a bag full of memories from Tyrol.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-tryst-with-innsbrucks-hospitality-and-

history/article8396642.ece

FSA Food Standards Agency : Netto recalls its Rice Market

Basmati Rice and Rice Market Parboiled Rice due to

possible pest contamination

03/22/2016 | 12:11pm US/Eastern

If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be 'withdrawn'

(taken off the shelves) or 'recalled' (when customers are asked to return the product). The FSA issues

Product Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and

local authorities know about problems associated with food. In some cases, a 'Food Alert for Action' is

issued. This provides local authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of

consumers.FSA - Food Standards Agency issued this content on 22 March 2016 and is solely responsible

for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 22 March 2016

16:10:08 UTC

Original Document: http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2016/15015/netto-recalls-two-rice-

products

Pest’ alert leads to supermarket rice recall

Netto ... have you bought rice from there?

A supermarket chain is recalling two rice products after it was revealed the

batches may have been contaminated by pests.

Netto’s has issued a statement warning that Rice Market Basmati Rice and Rice Market

Parboiled Rice have been recalled on a precautionary basis.The own-brand 1kg packs originate

from a packing site in Germany, where the suspect contamination is said to have occurred.Acompany statement read: “We are asking all customers who have bought the product not to usethem and return them to their nearest story for a full refund.“No other products are affected by

this issue, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local/pest-alert-leads-to-supermarket-rice-recall-1-781286#ixzz441L215TZ
http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local/pest-alert-leads-to-supermarket-rice-recall-1-7812886#ixzz441L215TZhttp://www.wigantoday.net/news/local/pest-alert-leads-to-supermarket-rice-recall-1-7812886#ixzz441L215TZhttp://www.wigantoday.net/news/local/pest-alert-leads-to-supermarket-rice-recall-1-7812886#ixzz441L215TZ

Documents

25th March,2016 Daily Global Regional,Local Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine