‘fake’ Paella Rice: Eu Under Fire Over Unclear Origin Labels

Rice growers successful Valencia are informing that your paella mightiness beryllium doomed earlier it hits nan cookware – not because of your cooking skills, but owed to unclear labelling connected imported atom sold arsenic if it were local.

EU waste and acquisition rules and lax root labels are fuelling claims of ‘fake’ paella rice, arsenic Asian and South American imports progressively find their measurement into Spanish supermarkets.

Valencian atom farmers opportunity EU waste and acquisition rules are ruining paella

Valencia, nan birthplace of paella, is location to accepted short-grain atom varieties for illustration bomba, prized for their unsocial cooking properties. But section farmers declare that galore supermarket atom bags operation these pinch imported varieties, sometimes from arsenic acold afield arsenic Myanmar aliases Cambodia.

Miguel Minguet, a Valencian atom husbandman and president of Copa-Cogeca’s atom group, said moreover trained eyes struggle to separate nan grains until they’re cooked. “The cooking points are different,” he explained to Euractiv.

According to Farm Europe, atom imports from Myanmar and Cambodia person already accrued by 13 per cent successful 2025 compared to nan aforesaid play past year.

EU waste and acquisition argumentation blamed

At nan centre of nan contention is nan EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which allows tariff-free imports from processing countries. While designed to support struggling economies, Spanish and Italian farmers reason it’s harming their ain sectors.

The EU did temporarily suspend GSP benefits for long-grain atom from Myanmar and Cambodia successful 2019, but short-grain varieties – utilized successful paella – stay exempt.

Spanish MEP Gabriel Mato welcomed Denmark’s push for a woody that would see automatic safeguards to protect EU farmers. “We want an unfastened waste and acquisition argumentation – but besides a adjacent one,” he told Euractiv.

Farmers request mandatory root labelling

Current EU rules only require companies to database wherever nan atom was processed, not wherever it was grown. That intends atom imported from Asia aliases South America and packed successful Spain tin beryllium labelled arsenic “Packed successful Spain” – aliases moreover marketed pinch accepted Valencian imagery.

Valencian husbandman and farmfluencer Nando Durá has been exposing this connected societal media. “After I started posting videos complaining astir atom origin, group reacted, telling me: ‘Wow, I had a emotion for a while that I was doing it incorrect utilizing nan aforesaid rice’,” he told Euractiv.

Durá says nan only guaranteed measurement to cognize you’re buying section atom is to look for nan Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) seal – aliases bargain straight from nan producer.

Green MEP Vicent Marzà, besides from Valencia, said imported atom is often cheaper owed to different biology and pesticide standards. “This is unfair competition, and it’s sidesplitting our countryside,” he said.

Minguet warned of a larger threat: tests are already underway to turn Spanish atom varieties successful Argentina. “We past because our atom is different to that of nan remainder of nan world… but we can’t compete pinch South America aliases Asia regarding costs and pesticide use,” he said.

The logic why you can’t navigator paella – nan atom is ‘fake’

If your paella turns retired soggy aliases soupy, it mightiness not beryllium your fault. “Our merchandise is amended for nan situation – and for nan consumer,” Minguet said. “But if we can’t thief group separate betwixt what’s ours and what isn’t, really are we expected to adhd value?”

Spanish MEPs are now pressuring nan EU Commission to explicate why atom labelling isn’t mandatory – dissimilar for honey, eggs aliases oliva oil.

So, nan adjacent clip your paella goes wrong, cheque nan atom packet.

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