The China Connection: There is no plastic in the ‘plastic rice’
- There is nothing plastic in the ‘plastic rice’ that has taken the nation by storm.
- Potato and tapioca paste laced with synthetic resin in the form of rice is simply called plastic rice.
- It all started with the Wuchang rice scandal in China in 2010, and took 7 years to reach India.
FollowThe new topic of discussion in media and the public is ‘Plastic Rice’ that has taken the nation by storm. Gullible people are now suspecting anything out of the ordinary as plastic and are scared. Food expert Raghu came on Suvarna Channel and repeatedly assured that there is no plastic in the ‘plastic rice.’
It all started in 2010, when ordinary rice was laced with artificial flavour and sold as the famous premium Wuchang rice, which has a special flavour like our Basmati rice. On the heels of the Wuchang scam exploded the news, as reported in The Korea Times, that fake rice sold in Taiyuan, Shaanxi Province was a “mixture of potatoes, sweet potatoes and plastic”. The “plastic” that was mentioned was, in fact, a coating of synthetic resin. Thus it came to be simply called plastic rice.
There is no confirmation if the ‘plastic rice’ reported in several parts of India is in fact produced in the same manner. However, it has created a scare among the public, which is fast growing at an epidemic proportion.
Even though experts debunked the theory of plastic rice, the issue was debated in the State Assembly, when Health Minister K R Ramesh Kumar stated that it was not possible to produce “such material and it was not economically feasible to produce plastic rice or eggs.”
Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar insisted that the government should investigate and get a report and if found true to take appropriate action.
BJP MLA C T Ravi alleged that there is an instance of ‘Plastic Rice’ being distributed in a PDS shop in Koppal. Immediately it was refuted by U T Khader, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, who said that no PDS shops in the State had distributed such rice and informed that the rice supplied in PDS shops were procured from the Central government. He asked for proof from C T Ravi.
