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Decisions: Rice

Risotto Primavera

Question: A company wants to sell an entree made with rice, vegetables and seasoning as "risotto primavera" as the common name.  Is this acceptable?

Answer: The common name may be shown as "Risotto Primavera with vegetables ". The list of ingredients must reflect the English and French common names "rice / riz".

"Risotto primavera" or "rissoto primavera" is an Italian style dish that is made with rice with vegetables and seasoning ( may include grated cheese, butter, cream, saffron, etc) . Risotto primavera is a fanciful name meaning "Spring rice" in Italian. The common name needs to be further described with the characterizing ingredients i.e. " with vegetables", as "primavera" is not considered sufficient on its own.

The name "risotto" is now defined in both English and French dictionaries such as"Merriam-Webster", "American Heritage", "Le Petit Robert", "LaRousse Advanced French-English Dictionary" and Epicurious Food dictionary. It appears on restaurant menus without further explanation or clarification. The entree common name is the name by which the product is generally known.

(Headquarters/June/2002)

Rice - Wild Rice

Question: May ‘wild rice’ grown in man- made paddies be referred to as ‘wild rice’ either as a common name or in the list of ingredients?

Answer: ‘Wild rice is appropriate as a common name or in the list of ingredients, whether the wild rice has been grown in a lake or in a paddy. There is no Canadian requirement to distinguish on food labels wild rice grown in paddies from wild rice grown in lakes. However, it is acceptable to make such a distinction, when factual, e..g., “Canadian lake wild rice”, “natural wild rice harvested from lakes”, and other similar factual expressions. (1998)