Air-conditioned rice! Fuli Rice, which has been awarded certification by the European Union, is now being exported all over the world 吹冷氣的米 富麗米獲歐盟認證銷全球
Not only is Fuli Rice (produced in Fuli Rural Township, Hualien County) the favorite brand of Taiwanese rice among Japan’s very demanding consumers, even more impressively, after three years of effort Fuli Rice has succeeded in securing certification from the European Union; Fuli Rice may be on sale in Germany, Switzerland and other European countries as early as the end of this year.
花蓮縣富里鄉的富麗米，不僅是嘴刁的日本人最愛吃的台灣米，更難能可貴的是，富麗米經過3年的努力，獲得歐盟認證，最快今年底之前，富麗米就可以遠銷德國、瑞士等國家。
“Our rice is air-conditioned 24 hours a day; it actually stays cooler than people do,” explains Chen Jung-Tsung, Director of the Fuli Farmers Association. Some while ago, a shipment of Fuli Rice being exported to the U.S. was kept onboard ship for several months. By the time the rice reached the supermarkets in the U.S., insect larvae hidden among the rice grains had hatched, and the white rice had been so gnawed by insects as to make it inedible; the whole shipment was rejected, which had a serious impact on the brand image of Fuli Rice. Following experts’ recommendations, the Fuli Farmers Association began using low-temperature cold storage to kill the insect larvae and maintain product quality. Pointing to a two-storey refrigerated warehouse, Chen says: “The air conditioning is on in there 24 hours a day, because you have to keep the temperature below 25C to kill the insect larvae.” After the rice has been harvested and husked, it is placed in cold storage at a temperature of 9 – 16C, to prevent germination due to excessively high humidity. “The electricity bill alone costs us NT$150,000 a month.”
「我們的米24小時吹冷氣，比人還好命，」富里鄉農會總幹事陳榮聰介紹。他說，某一出口美國，富麗米在船上漂了幾個月，抵達美國超市時，藏在米粒中的蟲卵已孵化，原本飽滿的白米，被啃得不成形，整批貨被退，嚴重影響品牌形象。在專家建議下，他們採取低溫冷凍方式殺死蟲卵，以確保品質。陳榮聰指著二層樓高的大冰庫說：「這裡全天候24小時吹冷氣，因為溫度要保持零下25度C才能殺死蟲卵。」稻穀收割去殼後，也要放入9-16度C的冷氣房中，避免溫、濕度太高而發芽，「光是電費，1個月就要新台幣15萬元。」
The Huatung Rift Valley area in Eastern Taiwan produces over 15,000 tons of rice a year, most of it high-quality rice. The Fuli Farmers Association grows the Kaohsiung #139 rice strain on the just over 40 hectares of rice fields in Fuli. Every aspect of rice cultivation is carefully planned and rigorously controlled, from the selection of varieties through the tilling of the soil, transplantation of the seedlings, weeding, application of fertilizer, through to harvesting. Cutting-edge technology is used to implement regular monitoring of how the rice is doing, ensuring full product traceability; every bag of organic rice that the Fuli Farmers Association exports has its own “ID card,” recording when fertilizer was applied and in what quantities.
花東每年產出1萬5000多公噸的米，多是市場上的優質米。富里鄉農會以該鄉40多公頃農地栽植「高雄139號」品種，經嚴格控管田間栽培作業，從選種、翻土、插秧、除草、噴藥到收成，以先進技術，定期追蹤稻米成長品質，製作「生產履歷」，讓每包出口的有機米，都有一張「身分證」，確實記錄施肥時間與用量。
花蓮縣富里鄉的富麗米，不僅是嘴刁的日本人最愛吃的台灣米，更難能可貴的是，富麗米經過3年的努力，獲得歐盟認證，最快今年底之前，富麗米就可以遠銷德國、瑞士等國家。
“Our rice is air-conditioned 24 hours a day; it actually stays cooler than people do,” explains Chen Jung-Tsung, Director of the Fuli Farmers Association. Some while ago, a shipment of Fuli Rice being exported to the U.S. was kept onboard ship for several months. By the time the rice reached the supermarkets in the U.S., insect larvae hidden among the rice grains had hatched, and the white rice had been so gnawed by insects as to make it inedible; the whole shipment was rejected, which had a serious impact on the brand image of Fuli Rice. Following experts’ recommendations, the Fuli Farmers Association began using low-temperature cold storage to kill the insect larvae and maintain product quality. Pointing to a two-storey refrigerated warehouse, Chen says: “The air conditioning is on in there 24 hours a day, because you have to keep the temperature below 25C to kill the insect larvae.” After the rice has been harvested and husked, it is placed in cold storage at a temperature of 9 – 16C, to prevent germination due to excessively high humidity. “The electricity bill alone costs us NT$150,000 a month.”
「我們的米24小時吹冷氣，比人還好命，」富里鄉農會總幹事陳榮聰介紹。他說，某一出口美國，富麗米在船上漂了幾個月，抵達美國超市時，藏在米粒中的蟲卵已孵化，原本飽滿的白米，被啃得不成形，整批貨被退，嚴重影響品牌形象。在專家建議下，他們採取低溫冷凍方式殺死蟲卵，以確保品質。陳榮聰指著二層樓高的大冰庫說：「這裡全天候24小時吹冷氣，因為溫度要保持零下25度C才能殺死蟲卵。」稻穀收割去殼後，也要放入9-16度C的冷氣房中，避免溫、濕度太高而發芽，「光是電費，1個月就要新台幣15萬元。」
The Huatung Rift Valley area in Eastern Taiwan produces over 15,000 tons of rice a year, most of it high-quality rice. The Fuli Farmers Association grows the Kaohsiung #139 rice strain on the just over 40 hectares of rice fields in Fuli. Every aspect of rice cultivation is carefully planned and rigorously controlled, from the selection of varieties through the tilling of the soil, transplantation of the seedlings, weeding, application of fertilizer, through to harvesting. Cutting-edge technology is used to implement regular monitoring of how the rice is doing, ensuring full product traceability; every bag of organic rice that the Fuli Farmers Association exports has its own “ID card,” recording when fertilizer was applied and in what quantities.
花東每年產出1萬5000多公噸的米，多是市場上的優質米。富里鄉農會以該鄉40多公頃農地栽植「高雄139號」品種，經嚴格控管田間栽培作業，從選種、翻土、插秧、除草、噴藥到收成，以先進技術，定期追蹤稻米成長品質，製作「生產履歷」，讓每包出口的有機米，都有一張「身分證」，確實記錄施肥時間與用量。
