Ministry awaits reports from Chemistry Dept on ‘plastic rice’ case

JOHOR BAHRU: The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK) has sent three samples of rice, alleged to be ‘plastic rice’ taken from a supermarket in Kulai, to the Chemistry Department to determine its authenticity.

Johor KPDNKK enforcement chief Aris Mamat said they had conducted inspection at the supermarket and ordered the product not to be sold to consumers.

“On June 7 at about 7pm, we went to the supermarket and took three samples of the rice and sent them to Chemistry Department here to identify the content of the product.

“The results from these samples will be announced as soon as possible. If it is true the said product contains plastic, we will take take measures to ensure consumers’ safety,” he said yesterday.

Aris said he had received one report on the ‘plastic rice’ and would take the similar action in the event of other complaints being lodged.

“Since this case occurred in Kulai, we went to the location to investigate and as the product carries an address in Kedah, we have asked for help from Kedah KPDNKK to help investigate the product,” he added.

The ‘plastic rice’ issue went viral after a man lodged a police report after finding the rice he bought was difficult to chew. The man known as P. Bhaskaran, 61, who bought the 5 kg rice at RM21.85, also claimed to have burnt the rice and found that it emitted plastic smell. — Bernama