During the era of the Rishonim, all Sephardic communities ate kitniyot and rice during Pesaḥ, though they were careful to pick out forbidden grains. Indeed, R. Yosef Karo writes (Beit Yosef §453) that nobody worries about “such things except for Ashkenazim.” This is the custom of most contemporary Sephardic communities.
However, some leading Sephardic Aḥaronim have written that many pious Jews refrain from eating rice during Pesaḥ because of a case in which some wheat was discovered in rice even after it had been checked several times (Pri Ḥadash, Ḥida). The Jews of Izmir have a custom not to eat rice on Pesaḥ (Lev Ḥayim 2:94), and many Jews of Morocco refrain from eating rice and other types of dry kitniyot on Pesaḥ. In Baghdad, many laypeople did not eat rice on Pesaḥ. For those who eat rice on Pesaḥ, the ruling was that they must first check it two or three times (Ben Ish Ḥai, Year One, Tzav 41). Each person should continue his ancestral custom. Where there is doubt or difficulty in doing so, it is best to consult a rabbinic authority.
Certain spices such as cumin, turmeric, and fenugreek often have grains mixed in and should not be eaten without a prior meticulous inspection.
Nowadays rice is stored in the same packing-houses as flours and semolina. Therefore, those who eat rice on Pesaḥ must buy packages that are certified kosher for Pesaḥ or check the rice thoroughly three times (see Ama Devar 1:62) .
