麻豆社

Spanish bomba rice, a vital ingredient in paella, could disappear after new EU rules banning a vital pesticide used in its production.

The EU stopped authorising the pesticide because it ruled in 2018 that the chemical, tricyclazole could be harmful to human health.

Farmers say it is needed to protect the harvest of bomba rice from a fungus that causes rice blast disease.

Spanish chef, Omar Allibohy, told Newsday: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the eldest grain that we have in our country and it is special because it absorbs more water than any other grain of rice in the world鈥�ultimately what will happen is that we will end up going to other countries outside of the EU that are allowed to use the chemicals that we are not allowed to in the EU.鈥�

(Picture: Shows Paella, a traditional Spanish rice dish. Credit: Martha Barreno / VW Pics / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.)