Abstract: The invention relates to: germinated brown rice having a degree of starch gelatinization of from 30 to 90%, a water content of from 20 to 70%, an &agr;-amylase activity of not greater than 5 IU/g, and a population of attached microorganisms of not greater than 10,000/g, which has good safety and low contamination by microorganisms and little or no fermentation odor or other unpleasant odors; a process for producing the per-germinated brown rice, comprising treating the germinated brown rice with hot water or steam; and a processed food prepared by processing the germinated brown rice.