Vietnam food watchdog reassures consumers amid fake rice rumor
Vietnam food watchdog reassures consumers amid fake rice rumor
The Vietnam Food Administration (VFA), the country’s food safety watchdog, has asked members of the public to settle their nerves as a rumor about fake rice made of plastic is sweeping through several Asian countries.
The VFA is cooperating with relevant forces to verify the information and will notify the public as soon as possible, according to an announcement posted on its website on Wednesday.
The watchdog also “recommends that people should not panic,” adding consumers should notify local agencies immediately if they find anything abnormal in the rice they eat or sell.
Rice is present in almost every meal of the Vietnamese, and the Southeast Asian country is also one of the world’s largest rice exporters.
A rumor of Chinese-made fake rice has circulated on popular social networks since early this week, according to Singaporean and Malaysian media.
The Vietnamese press also reported the news, thus worrying members of the public and prompting the VFA to reassure them, the food safety watchdog said.
The plastic rice is reportedly made from potatoes or sweet potatoes, with synthetic resin molded into the shape of real rice, according to The Straits Times.
The poisonous fake rice, which is also said to stay hard once cooked, is rumored to have entered many countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, the Singaporean newspaper said on Tuesday.
Food safety watchdogs in these countries are verifying the news, with Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority asserting that they have so far “not received any feedback on fake rice," according to The Straits Times.
Rumors about fake rice also flew through Vietnam in 2011 and 2012, but authorities later confirmed these were all false, according to the VFA.
