Govt agencies allay fears 'fake rice' has entered PHL market

Officials of the Department of Agriculture and National Food Authority took turns in allaying fears over the reported existence of “fake rice” in some Asian country markets.
 
NFA Spokesman, Director Angel Imperial, Jr., was quick to douse talks that fake rice has already entered the Philippines.

The government through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) he said, is strictly implementing its screening and evaluation process, especially when it comes to imported rice.

There is also the NFA-Food Development Center that conducts another round of evaluation to questionable imports he added.           

“Sure tayo na walang fake rice sa mga NFA importation,” Imperial said.

Even the Department of Agriculture is not taking any chances.

“Nagtanong po ako sa Bureau of Plant Industry at wala naman po tayong nagiging balita na pumapasok po na fake rice dito sa Pilipinas,” Agriculture Undersecretary Emerson Palad said.

Aside from directing the BPI to investigate talks about the so-called fake rice, the DA has likewise ordered the said agency strengthen its screening process to imported rice, Palad said.

That so-called “fake rice” was said to be a mixture of sweet potatoes and synthetic resin and is now being mixed to regular milled rice before entering the market.
 
According to reports, one sign of fake rice is that it doesn’t soften despite several hours of exposure to heat.
 
Synthetic resin or plastic if swallowed can cause severe stomach pain and even death.
 
Reports have it that a volume of fake rice was successfully slipped to the markets of India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
 
The Philippines gets a big portion of its imported rice from Vietnam. Some 300,000 metric tons from Vietnam arrived in April. -NB, GMA News