As if we didn’t have enough to worry about when it comes to local food safety, reports have surfaced that fake, plastic-based rice may have found its way into our food supply.
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The rice in question originates from China and is “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 populations such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam,” according to The Straights Times.
Health experts say that ingestion of the fake rice, which is indistinguishable from the real thing, can result in severe damage to the consumer’s digestive system.
Asian health authorities in Singapore and Malaysia said that they closely monitor rice imports and haven’t come across the faux rice.
"As part of AVA’s routine surveillance, imported rice is regularly inspected and sampled to ensure compliance with our food safety standards and requirements. Our sampling tests cover a wide range of food-borne hazards. Thus far, the testing results have been satisfactory,” a spokesman for Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) the newspaper.
Domestically, Vietnam's Food Safety Department under the Ministry of Health announced that it is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to verify the reports.
Apparently, the easiest way to detect plastic rice is by boiling it. According to Shanghaist, citing Oryza.com, “the fake rice grains remain hard after being boiled, and the soup made by it forms a very unappetizing plastic sheath 'that burns like plastic' when heated up.”
Guess we’ll have to order a bowl of boiling water next time we're grubbing up on a plate of cơm trưa.
[Photo via jacqueline]
