Fake Rice Found in Cebu

Short-grain Rice Variety

Plastic rice finally made its way to Cebu , specifically in Tabunok Talisay. Initially, reports only pinpointed Davao City as the first area affected by manufactured rice. 

However there may be a possibility that fake rice has entered several other cities and provinces as unscrupulous individuals mix fake rice with real rice. Only eagle eyed customers are able to identify the mix.

Fake rice came into the spotlight after international media reported it as another food scam in China. The Chinese community has been facing several food scams which include fake eggs, glowing meat, card-board meat “siopao and more.

Wawit Dela Cerna of Cebu posted on July 16, 2015 a video of such a mix. The video shows the fake rice burning and catching fire while real rice remains relatively unchanged. 

However not everyone is worried about “fabricated rice” like Dr. Alonzo Gabriel. Dr. Gabriel is a professor of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition in UP Diliman’s College of Home Economics. Fabricated rice has existed for some time now and the rice is made of corn and then extruded to obtain the shape of real rice. Extrusion is the same method that creates cereals and pasta.

Samples left corn grits, center and right fabricated corn rice © gmanetwork.com – Dr. Gabriel Alonzo

Unfortunately the samples found in Davao are similar to the ones found in China. The fake rice is made up of potato starch, several ingredients for plastic making and finally chemicals used in making pharmaceutical tablets. While fabricated rice are safe to eat, fake rice are not due to their unknown source and manufacturing method.

Two days after Dela Cerna posted the video on Facebook, NFA insisted that there is no fake rice in Region 7 or Cebu. Mary Agnes Militante, NFA regional information officer, reports that they have tested several samples from different sources and did not find anything unusual. Still, Militante advises everyone to be vigilant and inspect the rice first before cooking. It is also advisable to only buy from safe sources like in groceries and malls.

If anyone suspects that they have bough fake rice, Militante advices to bring two kilograms of the rice to the nearest NFA for testing.

Sources:

• https://www.facebook.com/wawit16/videos/420236478181218/
• Fake rice made of plastic reported to have reached Asian shores but not Singapore's -http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/fake-rice-made-of-plastic-reported-to-have-reached-asian-shores-but-not-singapores
• NFA: No fake rice in Region 7 - http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2015/07/18/1478159/nfa-no-fake-rice-region-7
• Duterte to make smugglers eat their fake rice - http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/701820/duterte-to-make-smugglers-eat-their-fake-rice
• What you should know about ‘fake rice’—and why not all fabricated rice is bad - http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/522698/scitech/science/what-you-should-know-about-fake-rice-and-why-not-all-fabricated-rice-is-bad