NFA: No fake rice in PH market

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National Food Authority (NFA) assured Friday the public that there is no proof that fake rice is being sold in the Philippine market.

This was after the NFA Food Development Center (FDC) conducted laboratory tests of suspected fake rice and results showed that they have starch granules, starch content and sensory characteristics typical of raw rice.

According to NFA, FDC conducted three laboratory analyses on six raw and two cooked rice samples submitted using microscopic analysis, starch analysis and sensory evaluation to test if these contain harmful chemicals.

The report about the alleged fake rice came out after certain Rafael Furo posted a video on social media and claimed that the rice he purchased in a market in Taguig City was plastic.

NFA said it verified the report and collected rice samples for laboratory analysis.

Aside from Taguig, the agency said its team also collected rice samples in Litex Market in Commonwealth, Quezon City following similar complaint of fake rice.

NFA said its field offices in Borongan, Samar, Dumaguete and Cebu have also sent rice samples for testing to FDC after receiving complaints from consum er s.

Despite results that there were no fake rice from the samples taken, NFA Administrator Jason Aquino urged the public to be more vigilant and report to NFA observations of any suspicious or unusual rice being sold in the markets in terms of appearance, smell or taste for verification and sample taking for laboratory analyses.

But he also warned those who intentionally spread wrong information about plastic or fake rice, saying it is "punishable by law."

NFA recalled that two years ago, there was a report on alleged fake rice in Davao City. But laboratory tests showed that the strange appearance of the alleged fake rice was only due to a "retrogradation process" involving a series of freezing, thawing, and heating. Retrograded rice can be termed as "stale rice" or "panis na kanin," NFA said.

But the same rice sample was also found to be contaminated with a plasticizer chemical compound called dibutyl phthalate probably due to mishandling, it said, adding that it was an "isolated case."

(SDR/ SunStar Philippines)