Technical Abstract: Food industries need consistent supplies of rice that are well-defined in terms of functional, nutritional, and sensory characteristics associated with intrinsic product quality to allow them to be directed to the most appropriate, highest value markets. Defining the sensory quality of rice is problematic because of poor scientific understanding of what affects its sensory characteristics and lack of rapid analytical methodology for its accurate assessment. At this time, sensory quality of rice is predominately determined by time-intensive, human sensory evaluations subject to the frailty of human objectivity or batteries of physicochemical measurements that correlate in varying degrees to its sensory properties. This paper discusses methodology used for human sensory analyses, shortcomings of traditional physicochemical measurements in assessing sensory quality, and emerging tools which show promise in more accurately assessing and predicting rice sensory quality.