Ben’s Original Boil-in-Bag Rice: ‘Perfect in 10 Minutes’

Ben’s Original (formerly known as Uncle Ben’s) advertises on boxes of its boil-in-bag rice that the food is “perfect in 10 minutes.” But unless the “perfect” rice is an undercooked rice, Big Ben has some ‘splainin’ to do.

Specifically, the company needs to explain why the front of the box prominently claims “perfect in 10 minutes,” while cooking instructions on the side of the box (that many consumers probably don’t read until they are actually preparing the food) say to boil “12 minutes for firmer rice or 14 minutes for softer rice” or to stick the bag in the microwave for “15 minutes until water is absorbed.”

After a reader alerted TINA.org to the discrepancy, TINA.org confirmed that the packaging with the conflicting preparation times is still in use.

The “perfect in 10 minutes” claim also appears on product packaging on the Ben’s Original website, though the cooking instructions on the site say to boil for 10-12 minutes.

TINA.org reached out to Ben’s Original for comment. Check back for updates.

Find more of our of coverage on food labeling issues here.