Plastic rice a rumour: Civil Supplies department

Hyderabad: Commissioner of Civil Supplies CV Anand on Wednesday urged people not to pay heed to rumours about plastic rice in the city.

Samples were collected from the rice mill at Meerpet, from where complaints started, and analsyis at the corporation’s laboratory showed that they were not plastic rice. “We have also alerted the entire Civil Supplies administration and the association of rice millers to spread awareness and educate public on the issue. Officials have been directed to quickly act on such complaints and stocks,” Anand said.

To reconfirm the results that came out of the corporation laboratory, rice samples were forwarded for further testing at the State Food Laboratory.

The department officials have also received



guidelines on how to recognise faulty looking rice and to identify whether the rice is mixed with any additives. The officials said that checks and inspections will be carried out wherever necessary.

Mandatory, physical analysis and D-husk test was first conducted on the samples, which was later soaked in water for some time. “We suspect that if the rice had some plastic component, then it would float in water. But after soaking, there was no sign of floating,” the officials said.

On being cooked, the rice became like a paste as it usually happens when normal rice is cooked, they said. The rice collected from the complainant and the samples collected from the mill were cooked and both looked the same and tasted normal, the department clarified.