PhilRice scientists and food technologists have developed a ready-to-eat, low-glycemic index (GI) fried rice that offers a healthier alternative for individuals with diabetes and a shelf-stable emergency food option for disaster-affected areas.
The innovation comes in response to two pressing concerns: food insecurity and increasing cases of diabetes. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 44% of Filipinos experience moderate to severe food shortages, while diabetes ranked as the fourth leading cause of premature death in 2023, linked partly to excessive consumption of high-GI white rice.
Unlike regular fried rice, the low-GI stir-fried version slows starch breakdown, helping control blood sugar levels. It also delivers improved nutrition with vegetables, eggs, and ground meat.
“Low-GI rice like NSIC Rc 182 has a hard texture, and the grains tend to become fluffy when cooked. This is not what many Filipinos prefer,” food scientist Evelyn H. Bandonill said.
To ensure both convenience and long shelf-life, Bandonill and her team used retort processing, a method that applies high heat and pressure to eliminate harmful microorganisms without preservatives.
The process of creating the product includes steaming the low-GI rice, pre-cooking the other ingredients, stir-frying them together, vacuum sealing, and retort-processing the final product. This technique extends the shelf-life of the fried rice to seven months at room temperature.
“Retort processing spares us from using chemicals or preservatives to make the product shelf-stable,” Bandonill assured.
In February 2025, with support from the Intellectual Property Management Office, the team filed a patent application for their low-GI fried rice. As early as now, a rice-based food manufacturer is already expressing interest in its commercialization.
