Rice isn’t Rice!
Few days had pass since a certain Rafael Furo posted a video claiming that the ‘fake’ rice he bought from Taguig City that was made of plastic! The social media muddled as people sent out their point of views. The National Food Authority (NFA) immediately took action to this rice matter to terminate social panic.
Laboratory tests on fake rice
The Food Development Center (FDC) have conducted a laboratory examination on the suspected fake rice. Aside from the market in Taguig, they also gathered rice samples from Litex Market in Commonwealth, Quezon City who was said to have the same problem. Rice have been collected as well in other parts of the country like: Borongan, Samar, Dumaguete, and Cebu.
Six Filipinos (recently) complained regarding the intake of ‘fake’ rice that was said to be distributed last Tuesday in Sta Fe, Cebu. Due to stomach pains, they were sent to the rural hospital.
After the examinations in the laboratory, NFA has announced that there is still no proof on the fake rice being sold throughout the markets of the Philippines. However, NFA 7 public information officer Olma Marie Bayno said that there are ways to identify fake rice (in case one comes in contact).
Tips to identify fake rice:
- Uniformly-sized (which means it is machine cut)
- No chalky dot or tips are scared (real rice has chalky dot due to the rice germ/ embryo removed)
- Uncertain or unusual smell (check if the rice smells like plastic or synthetic)
- Foam or floating substances upon cooking
The public may contact the NFA’s Bantay Bigas Hotline through this number: 0906 4363 133 regarding any alleged selling or buying of fake rice. Since most Filipinos eat rice three times as their daily basis, NFA wants to ensure that it would not be their last meal with rice that isn’t rice.
