Faking it

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The reported existence of “fake rice” that is allegedly produced in China and is made from potatoes and sweet potatoes with synthetic resin molded in the shape of rice that has made allegedly its way into some Asian countries, including Davao City in the Philippines, is truly troubling for a people who consider rice an integral part of their diet.

As the Food Development Center of the National Food Authority continues to test samples taken from areas claiming to have fake rice, with preliminary results showing that a sample from Davao City was “contaminated with dibutyl phthalate or DBP, a raw material for making flexible plastic products”, our government is also striving to investigate the source of the synthetic rice as well as determine if it can be found in public markets.

Malacañang is also advising the public to buy rice only from government accredited wholesale or retail outlets to avoid being victimized by unscrupulous traders who could be selling synthetic or fake rice.

Aside from warning the public to be wary and attempting to prevent the entry of adulterated food into the country, the proliferation of fake rice could prove to be a monumental challenge for food and health authorities across the region. Singapore, Malaysia and India have already put rice imports under surveillance but they have been unable to come up with a system to easily differentiate fake rice from natural rice and that is something the Philippines, which is highly vulnerable because it imports significant amounts of rice, will have to deal with as well.

The fake rice scare gives our government another incentive to improve the domestic production of this staple food and find the political will and the funding to finally achieve and sustain our food self sufficiency goals that have been perennially unmet. The possibility of fake or synthetic rice contaminating our food stores also makes finding ways to counter such a threat a priority for the governments concerned.

Rice consuming nations will need to work together to find ways to easily detect those poisonous fakes as well as to eliminate the source and collectively prosecute those found responsible.

Our government is scrambling to confirm the existence of this threat to food safety that if found to be real will need to be met with measures to protect the health of their people. As we wait, let us protect ourselves with vigilance and a keen sense of awareness when it comes to what used to be the simple task of procuring rice for our families and loved ones.*