HOW do you know if the rice you are buying is not fake?
The National Food Authority (NFA) 7 is providing tips for consumers on how to be sure if the rice they are buying is real or not.
When buying rice, consumers are advised to check on its appearance.
“If the grains are uniformly-sized, there’s a chance they may have been made by a machine,” said Olma Marie Bayno, NFA 7 public information officer.
Bayno said that another indicator if the rice is not real is if there is no chalky dot or a scar at the tip of the rice grain.
That chalky dot is where the rice germ or embryo is removed, Bayno said.
Bayno advised consumers to not only check the rice’s appearance, but also its smell.
“If it smells anything like plastic or any synthetic material, it should be subjected to laboratory analysis to ascertain the composition of the grain,” Bayno said.
For cooked rice, consumers must also make sure it does not smell unusual. Bayno said that when cooking rice, consumers must check if there is foam or substance left on top of the rice when cooked.
Bayno also urged consumers to contact the NFA’s Bantay Bigas Hotline through this number 09064363133 if they received reports of alleged selling of fake rice.
The NFA 7 reiterated its advice to consumers after reports that fake rice is being sold in some parts of the country.
Earlier this week, some residents living in Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island were alarmed by social media reports that beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Program (MCCP) and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) were allegedly sold fake rice.