Announced Actions for May 15, 2001

Commission denial of petition for rulemaking proceeding:

The Commission has denied a petition requesting an FTC rulemaking proceeding regarding: The advertising and marketing of basmati and jasmine rice. The petition was filed last year by The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology; the Center for Food Safety; and the International Center for Technology Assessment, and requested that the FTC begin a rulemaking proceeding to prohibit advertisers and marketers from using the terms "basmati" or "jasmine" to characterize rice grown in the United States. In denying the petition, the Commission said it found no reason to believe that significant consumer injury is likely to arise from current rice marketing. Under United States Department of Agriculture regulations, basmati and jasmine rice are included as examples of "aromatic rough rice" and are not limited to rice grown in any particular country. Moreover, the Commission said it had no evidence to suggest that U.S.-grown rice is being misrepresented as rice from other parts of the world. Accordingly, FTC staff sent a letter to the petitioners informing them of the Commission's decision. The Commission vote to deny the petition was 5-0. (FTC File No. P014506; staff contact is Deborah H. Kelly, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3004.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.