The Council of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Agency and FamilyMart have teamed up to invent three flavors of rice bread and cake, which the agency said yesterday are to find a new use for the nation’s rice surplus and boost the public’s health.
The three products include pork floss rice cake, oat and rice toast with adzuki beans, and caramel rice cake, which are set to hit the market tomorrow and be priced between NT$22 and NT$28.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) said that Taiwan’s rice surplus amounts to between 30 and 40 tonnes annually, in part because of a WTO regulation on the volume of rice the nation is able to export.
The council said it hopes that by marketing these pastries, which are each made with 15 percent rice, Taiwan will be able to reduce its rice surplus by between 10 and 20 tonnes annually, Chen said.
The products were developed between May and August, which was relatively fast compared with other food products the convenience store chain has introduced in the past, thanks to the agency’s advanced rice powder grinding techniques, which enable the powder to be ground into various sizes, FamilyMart’s public relations manager Ho Hsu Mi (何敘米) said.
Taiwan-based China Grain Products Research and Development Institute vice president Shih Kuen-ho (施坤河) said that rice might be a healthy alternative to wheat, which might be linked to obesity.
“Obesity is a much more prevalent problem among the younger generation, who grew up eating mostly wheat, than it is among people aged 50 or above, who grew up eating rice. The Japanese are known for being healthy because they eat so much rice, even for breakfast, which could indicate that rice is a more suitable food for Asians” than wheat, he said.
Institute head of research and development team Su Mei-ying (蘇梅英) said that the protein conversion ratio of rice is about 98 percent, while that of wheat is about 92 percent. She also said that, contrary to popular belief, rice actually contains less calories than wheat because studies have shown that it produces more resistant starch, which is non-digestible by the human body, and therefore helps to stabilize glucose levels.
When asked what the difference was between the new products and 7-Eleven’s now-discontinued rice bread, she touted the advantages of the industry-government collaboration by saying that the four rice powder mills selected by the agency consistently provide high volumes of good-quality material and Lien Hwa is one of them, adding that baking techniques have also improved over the years.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS