| Nation Monday May 18, 2015 |
PETALING JAYA: The sacred bowl of rice that used to save lives could now be harmful – and even deadly.
Plastic rice laced with poisonous resin has reportedly reached the shores of several Asian nations with the latest news circulating that it has entered Singapore.
Health experts and dieticians have warned that consuming such fake grains could be lethal or seriously damage the digestive system.
The news of the fake rice, commonly sold in Chinese markets, especially in Taiyuan in Shaanxi province, have been circulating on popular social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook.
Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek said the message, which had gone viral, might be true or false but the ministry would not take such things lightly.
“I, too, have heard about the news. The news can be true or false; we don’t know about it.
“We also don’t know if the fake rice has landed in the country but we cannot take such things lightly.
“We will carry out investigations nationwide,” Hasan said yesterday.
The plastic rice, reportedly made from potatoes, sweet potatoes, with synthetic resin moulded into the shape of real rice, is said to have made its way into countries with large rural population such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam and lately, Singapore.
The rice is said to stay hard after it has been cooked.
Hasan added that the investigating team would focus on small sundry shops to check whether they were selling the fake rice, especially in the outskirts and rural areas.
“We will conduct our investigations, but at the same time I would like to plead with consumers to come forward and report to the ministry if they come across such rice.
“All reports made will be treated confidentially,” he said, adding that the ministry would take action against errant traders.
Sources from the rice industry said such rice would not be sold openly at supermarkets and hypermarkets.
“If there is existence of this rice in Malaysia, it would most likely be sold in small shops,” one source said.
He also noted that it would be hard for wholesalers to bring in the plastic rice following strict regulations at the country’s entry points.
“However, there are possibilities that the plastic rice can be smuggled in through the border states,” he said.
Smugglers can use various methods to bring in the product as they know it would be hard to detect if the plastic rice was to be mixed with normal rice, he said.
When contacted, National Heart Institute (IJN) chief dietitian Mary Easaw-John said: “Some substances, such as plastic resin, are not meant to be edible and in the long run will have negative implications on the digestive system.”
Food adulteration is a serious problem. About 300,000 people fell sick and at least six infants died in 2008 when Chinese milk and infant formula was found to be adulterated with melamine.
Later that year, melamine was also discovered in Chinese eggs.
Plastic may costed more than real rice.
Really strange that merchants think out of the box just to create food items that are not real...
quite scary man
Buy organic.
Nowdays everything fake , dont eat loh zho xian.
Everything is not pure these day.
Their is mixture in every eatables these days..
just avoid anything made in china...