Plastic rice doesn’t exist at all: Rice Millers

​Hyderabad: Busting the myth about plastic rice being sold at many places in the State, Rice Millers Association has pooh-poohed unproven reports appeared in the media. According to it, plastic rice does not exist at all.

According to the association members, the machines in the video widely circulated on social media are used for producing edible granules which appear like rice, by mixing edible roots like potatoes with broken rice.

They explained that the process involves mixing of edible roots with broken rice till it turns into a liquefied form. The liquid, in turn, is transformed in the form of a transparent sheet (like plastic) after heating at certain temperature for some time.

Later, the sheet is inserted into the machinery to get granules in the form of rice, which remains edible. “This video has been misunderstood to be a plastic rice manufacturing machine,” said a miller.

The millers who held a meeting here on Thursday said at this point, while rumours were doing rounds, there was no definite proof if such a product was being illegally made.

However, there have been unproven reports in the past that plastic rice were made in China and also exported to Western countries. In fact, some reports even said that the Chinese food producers were making plastic rice with a mixture of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and plastic. All these were rumours. There was no proof, they said.

The production cost of edible granules which appear like rice, by mixing edible roots like potatoes with broken rice is very expensive. It would be around Rs 120 per kilogram and even the machine costs around Rs 10 lakh.

With high production cost, the rice millers said it would not generate any profit for them. They also ruled out the possibility of plastic sugar entering the market. Srinivas of Laxmi Rice Industries said the social media had created unnecessary fear among the consumers.

The Civil Supplies Department which sent the samples for further tests and ‘chemical analysis’, however, continued to sensitise the staff, rice millers and whoever in the supply chain over identifying ‘plastic rice’, if it was real.

“Food adulteration is a reality, we do not want to take chances. All concerned have been alerted and have been asked to keep a vigil,” said Commissioner of Civil Supplies, C V Anand.

Meanwhile, an NGO, Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV), which aims at increasing scientific temperament among the public, ruled out that there was anything called ‘plastic rice’, even in China.

In a statement, it has pointed out that the production units in video (purportedly from China) that went viral in social media during the recent months were actually producing small plastic granules for industrial purposes. These granules are used for production of various kinds of plastic products.

The JVV has pointed out that rumour was widely accepted prompting some people to complain about the plastic rice because of the problem with the quality. “There was a difference between what people had expected, after buying super fine quality rice (sanna biyyam), which later turned out to be steamed rice after cooking,” the statement added.