Are You Eating Plastic Rice? Beware!

Yet another story appears about adulterated (plastic) rice being sold in markets and this time it's in The Biryani City, Hyderabad. 40-year-old Ashok living in Meerpet town, states how he was in a shock upon finding that the rice on his plate could have been made out of rubber as it bounced when rolled into the shape of a ball.

Ashok also added about his children having been ill for a long time and suffering from gastric problems. None of the medicines can cure their issues. And after the incident of plastic rice is when he realizes what has been going wrong. This made him file a complaint about the same.

What is Plastic Rice?

The term 'plastic rice' first originated in China in 2010. Rice manufacturing companies were found to be involved in adulteration when they labeled the regular rice as premium Wuchang rice which is known for its unique aroma and exported the fake one to the world. It is believed that plastic rice is a mixture of plastic, potato, and sweet potato.

Hyderabad Cooking Plastic Rice

Hyderabad is increasingly dealing with complaints about outlets selling plastic rice claiming to be infiltrated from China. The areas of Charminar, Saroornagar, Yousufguda, and Meerpet are the most affected areas. Hence, the Food and Civil Supplies Department has got the samples collected (for a laboratory analysis) and even seized the stock at certain grocery stores along with arresting a few others.

But Indrasen, a Telugu television journalist wasn't so fortunate (like Ashok) and got attacked by the hotel owner upon making an accusation when he found that the biryani he was eating had adulterated rice that bounced upon rolling into a ball.

Plastic Rice Sample Collected for Lab Tests

(Image Courtesy: NDTV)

From the past couple of days, multiple videos have been running viral on several social media platforms about people playing with the bouncing rice balls. Therefore, in another similar incident at a famous restaurant in Delhi (Connaught Place, Gol Market) a woman claimed having been served plastic rice going ahead of which she rolled them into a ball and demonstrated the bounce. 

Though, according to the experts, it's practically impossible for rice to be cooked if made out of plastic as they wouldn't absorb water in that case. They also say that bouncing of the rice balls depend upon the amount of starch (amylose) that rice contain. 

But what remains the substantiality in this matter would come out to be known after the investigation and qualitative analysis test after the Hyderabad incident. And if the plastic rice is being so readily and sustainably consumed then it would call for an alert as they may hamper the well-being of people. Such fake rice would lead to hormonal imbalances, indigestion problems, congenital disabilities and even in critical cases cause cancer. 

(Featured Image Courtesy: LinkedIn)