Local Sources founded that in some parts of the southern India rice being sold is mixed with Chinese plastic rice.
What is Chinese Plastic Rice?
This kind of rice is made by mixing potatoes, sweet potatoes, and Chinese polymers. This rice is similar to the natural rice and one can hardly differentiate between synthetic and natural rice merely by a look.
The potatoes are first changed to rice grain shape and then industrial resins are added to these rice grains to give them rice like texture.
The only way to distinguish between natural rice and the Chinese plastic rice is that this rice after boiling become hard and the soup made by this forms a plastic sheath which burns like plastic.
Local sources reveals that this kind of rice is being sold in Kerala market are packed in a packet mixed with normal rice and to differentiate them with merely a look is not possible.
Chinese plastic rice is indigestible and can cause gastritis and other stomach related problems.
This kind of rice is being imported from China or being bought online from Singapore supermarket.
Experts noted that there is no any procedure available in India to check the importation of fake or synthetic rice. They suggested that Indian government should put some procedure to make sure that the artificial rice could not enter the country. However they also said that India does not need any rice import as India is self sufficient with Major rice importer of the world.
Earlier to this also Chinese plastic rice as well as locally produced Chinese rice is considered as poisonous and being contaminated with metals like Cadmium.