Plastic rice rumours: Humbug, say Tamil Nadu rice 

dealers

Chennai: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





The Federation of Tamil Nadu Rice Mill Owners and Paddy Rice Dealers Association has rubbished rumours of plastic rice being sold in the market.Addressing media persons on Monday , Dr A C Mohan, secretary of the association, said plastic granules cost `83 per kg, and asked why anyone would use them to make plastic rice which was costlier than the rice available in the market.
He also said fake rice could easily be detected. “While normal rice gets fried when heated in a pan, plastic rice will melt due to the heat,'' he said.
Mohan said YouTube videos and WhatsApp messages doing the rounds about plastic rice were false and fabricated and urged the general public not to fall prey to such rumours. The food minister R Kamaraj had ordered inspections across the state and no plastic rice was found anywhere, he said.
Association officials displayed various types of rice from across the state and from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and challenged the media to prove that it contained plastic or plastic granules. President of the association D Thulasingam said the samples could be taken by the media and subjected to tests, adding that there was no drop in sales of rice after the rumours began to spread.