Rice flour cost hike alert adds to food inflation forecasts Eurostar Commodities has warned a global shortage of rice flour is likely to lead to price increases in many everyday food staples, amid ‘smoke signals’ of rising costs from global food firms. Rice flour is mainly used as an ingredient in common food products, from baby food, desserts and soups to stews, coatings and batters. It is also used widely in gluten free products. Rice flour is usually derived from broken rice grains fractured during the milling process. The broken grains are deemed inferior and so are separated from the whole grains and sold as ‘Broken Rice’.