Debunking Plastic Rice

In the backdrops of halted pesticide testing and entrance of poisonous vegetables inside Nepal, the rumour of plastic rice too is once again becoming the matter of tea talks in Kathmandu. Since the past few days, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are flooded with rumours about sales of plastic rice in Kathmandu. Even before any authentic proof; tips on distinguishing real and plastic rice have earned thousands share in Facebook. As said by famous poet Bhupi Serchan “It’s a country of rumours”, in very short time the rumour became news and spread so fact that people actually are feeling insecure to consume rice.

Similarly, some months ago, most unusual discussion in administrative level alarmed every professional at the Department of Food Technology and Quality Centre’s office in Babarmahal, Kathmandu. When a middle-aged man filed complain about rampant ‘plastic rice’ sale inside capital’s markets. In July 2017 Nepal Police seized four trucks of rice from Sherchan Brothers Pvt Ltd, Sano Bharyang, owned by Tanka Prasad Sherchan following complaints from locals that he was selling “plastic rice”. The news not only made media headlines but also went viral on social sites. Kathmandu frequently encounters the threats of contaminated food and chemically grown veggies in the market. But for an agricultural nation where every house consumes rice twice a day, the rumour of ‘plastic rice’ would be a life-threatening problem. At this point, only rumours are the base of argument, there is no solid evidence of such illegal manufactures.

Indeed this plastic rice scandal seems quite historic as it has been reported in other cities before Kathmandu. Similar kinds of reports from Africa and even India have emerged earlier, but all rumours were proven fake after examination. Similarly, couple of months ago every Indian medias were flooded with the news of ‘plastic rice’ and hoax of bio-war waged by china. Such news coverage perpetuate extreme panic in public as the goods in question happen to be daily food and any contamination of lethal product like plastic might result severe health problems. The plastic rice phenomenon actually begin during 2010 when China experienced Wuchang rice scandal where dealers adulterate unique chemical flavours in ordinary rice to mark it as premium brand . Furthermore, in 2011, the Korean Times also reported that suppliers inside Shaanxi Province were engaged in marketing fake rice made by contamination of plastic and sweet potatoes. This appears to be the first reported information of ‘plastic in rice’. Mainstream news agencies were also not exception in highlighting this rumour. In December 2016, the BBC as well as CNN had allegedly reported the news about plastic rice scandal in Nigeria. Later the Nigerian government dismiss the case and conclude that the rice claimed to be of plastic actually contained bacteria above negotiable amount without any trace of plastic.

As shown by various other cases, the ‘plastic rice’ can never be a mass phenomenon because there seems no profit in manufacturing plastic foods. From economic point of view, its bad marketing to make such contamination as plastic is lighter than rice and while shaping its look like rice the production will outweigh net benefit. Also boiling plastic rice will yield nothing and it can’t get cooked like normal rice. Why any company out there would be foolish enough to bogus rice with plastic? According to Chinese media report “The rice is made by mixing potatoes, sweet potatoes and plastic. The potatoes are first formed into the shape of rice grains. Industrial synthetic resins are then added to the mix. The rice reportedly stays hard even after being cooked”. As the report mention, first the potato material need to be shaped into tiny rice, then coat it with plastic and ultimately sell this expensively manufactured product at normal rice cost. That seems very unpractical economic.

The term ‘Plastic rice’ origin after a video scandal from China went viral on media. The hoax about plastic rice was backed by video which shows people bouncing rice balls. Actually, there exists factorial substance called plastic rice. When plastic products goes through recycling process, the end products look something like rice, so factory workers commonly denote that stuff as ‘plastic rice’, but its only used to manufacture plastic merchandises. Beside, since the rise of plastic rice hoax in 2011, no countries have been able to achieve any precise evidence which could prove the thing as real. And many nutrition scientists also made clear that plastic is not biodegradable and the digestive function of humans does not endure it, which means, that there is no way it can be consumed.

It’s no surprise that thought-provoking and absurd titles are often the most widely circulated coverage on social Medias. Had it not been for the social media, the ‘Plastic rice’ wouldn’t have gained its current popularity. Similar were the cases of HIV virus in frooti and skin infection virus in tomato. The rumour of manufacturing plastic rice defies logical assumption, yet it remains to see if there exists any truth behind this story. Social Medias instead of examining the fact is now almost turning into epidemic of fake news that proliferate threat in public lives. It seems like not the grocers but only some online Medias are selling overhyping stories of ‘plastic rice’. Instead of celebrating the rumour, why don’t the media do investigative reporting on this issue? If online media comes down to such reporting, what difference will remain between public hearsay and news stories?