THE proliferation of unverified "fake rice" is not enough grounds for Davao City to be labeled as the country's new smuggling capital, an official of National Food Authority (NFA) in Davao Region said Thursday.
Reacting to a report published in a national daily Thursday, NFA-Davao Director Diane Silva called this an isolated case and should not be linked to smuggling.
"The suspected fake rice is another story," she said.
The report quoted an agricultural group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), saying that smuggled agricultural commodities have already penetrated Davao Region amid stern warning issued by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to smugglers not to enter the ports of Davao.
"Fake rice is the worst of the rubbish that smugglers bring into our country. Before that, they had expired frozen meat as well as high-risk, mechanically deboned meat of pigs and chicken," the report cited Sinag chair Rosendo So.
Silva said it is not yet established whether the rice, which is reported to be made of synthetic resins with sweet potatoes and potatoes, already made its way into the local market.
The laboratory analysis sent by NFA-Davao to the Food Development Center (FDC) last Tuesday evening will be released Friday, July 3.
However, she urged the local consumers not to panic amid reports on fake rice that are circulating on Facebook, although they are not discounting the possibility that there may be truth to it.
The agency has been in contact with officials of the Confederation of Grains Retailers Association of the Philippines (Grecon)-Davao City chapter to ensure that the consumers will be protected and that the alleged fake rice, if laboratory analysis will affirm it, will not further proliferate in the local market.
In a report earlier, NFA-Davao reported that Carmencita Griño of Matina Aplaya, Davao City complained that the fake rice looked clean and of high quality but it becomes compressed when cooked and pressed like a styrofoam.
She got the supply from her sister-in-law in Matina who bought the rice from Cabantian.
In a separate statement, Virgilio B. Alerta, provincial manager of NFA-Davao, said NFA already conducted an investigation to trace the source of the synthetic rice, which led them to Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
"But our efforts turned negative when the supplier, surnamed Brieta said she had no dealings in Ciudad Esperanza, much more in Cabantian, Davao City," he said in a letter sent to Duterte.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Davao Director Remelyn Recoter said she obtained a sample of the alleged fake rice, saying that it was already a week since it was cooked.
"Two days pa lang naga-mold na dapat ang kanin," she said, but the sample she obtained was free of molds.
Recoter added that it is not conclusive if the fake rice made it through only at the ports of Davao as it cannot be known where else in the country it has already penetrated.
"Hindi naman natin malaman kung dito lang ba sa Davao," she said while encouraging consumers to buy only at the trusted rice suppliers.
Recoter admitted that the production of rice in the region is not sufficient.
In 2014, the rice sufficiency of the region stood at 52 percent, still below its target at 58 percent.
The supply of rice in the region was at 300,630.77 MT while the demand stood at 522,321.80 MT last year.
Officials from Bureau of Customs were sought for comment on Thursday but they were still in meeting to discuss the matter.