India Gate's 550kg rice bag enters Guinness World Records

Dubai, Feb 23: A bag of rice weighing 550kgs has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being the heaviest bag of rice.

The rice bag of India Gate Classic Basmati Rice brand has achieved the feat at the annual 4-day food and hospitality trade show being held here from February 21-25.

The new record by India-based Basmati rice exporter, KRBL Ltd was achieved when the bag was filled in a single day by a team at KRBL DMCC's Al Quoz warehouse before being driven on a truck to Gulfood.

"Guinness Book of World Record assessors were on site to verify the entire process," said Priyanka Mittal, member of the Board of Directors at KRBL. Following the feat, Guinness Book of Records accreditors presented the management with an honorary certificate on the second day of Gulfood.

"After the show, we plan to display the bag for a few days at a major retail store or a shopping mall before cooking it for distribution to labourers," Mittal said. KRBL, which owns the India Gate Basmati rice brand, is also one of the recipients of World's Greatest Brands and Leaders 2015 - Asia & GCC Awards.

The company is participating at Gulfood to connect with its worldwide distributors, forge new alliances and expand its country basket.

The record has been welcomed by DWTC which has signed up more than 5,000 exhibitors from over 120 countries for Gulfood 2016, the largest number in the show's history.

"The new Guinness World Record is a colourful and engaging addition to this year's show. Dubai is well known for its record-breaking exploits and we're very happy that Gulfood has got in on the act," said Mark Napier, Exhibition Director of Gulfood.

Gulfood 2016 is hosting the show's largest contingent to date of national and industry pavilions, having lined up a total of 117, five more than last year, with first-time group participation from Russia, Costa Rica, Belarus, and Mauritius, and New Zealand returning after a six-year break.

PTI