Broken rice is fragments of rice grains, broken in the field, during drying, during transport, or during milling. Mechanical separators are used to separate the broken grains from the whole grains and sort them by size. Broken rice is fragmented, not defective, so there is nothing wrong with it. It is as nutritious as the equivalent quantity of unbroken rice. Due to the different size and shape of the grains, broken rice has a different, softer texture from unbroken rice, and absorbs flavours more easily.