The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has debunked the assertion of plastic rice being imported into the country.
At a media education workshop held in Accra on Friday June 23, the FDA said its market surveillance had not picked up any plastic rice as being speculated on social media.
Officials have discounted claims in some social media videos where individuals mould cooked rice and hit it against a wall. When it bounces, the individuals conclude that it is plastic rice, but when the rice ball disintegrates they consider it as natural rice.
The head of Food Safety Management at the FDA, Maria Lovelace-Johnson, disclosed that “there was no way plastic will not melt at boiling temperature” during cooking, adding that “plastic cannot be moulded at room temperature”, refuting claims that there is plastic rice on the Ghanaian market.
She said the FDA had collected rice samples from almost all the markets in Ghana and carried out various tests which proved that all the rice on the market was wholesome.
The FDA said it was liaising with its partners in countries from where most of Ghana’s rice is imported to ensure that only wholesome rice find their way into the country.
The FDA, however, charged the public to be alert and contact the office upon suspicion of any inedible items being sold as food.
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