Similar reports have surfaced in other countries in the sub-region including Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1ixgS8Ty686L8mYs92oyQ2FNzzkFjkzh”]Indeed, in 2016, customs officials in Nigeria confiscated 2.5 tonnes of what it called “plastic rice” smuggled into the country by unscrupulous businessmen.

Some videos circulating also seem to show these food items being manufactured, whilst some other videos show people performing improvised tests to confirm the plastic nature of the rice

The widespread concerns notwithstanding, the Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Delese Darko, said its own rigorous experiments invalidate the claims of plastic rice.

“There is currently no plastic rice on the market. We are monitoring the situation. We are doing it with the international community… As to what is happening on social media, we will continue to monitor, but I cannot say why they are doing it,” she said at a press briefing today [Friday].

“Using our nation-wide market surveillance program, we obtained random samples After hearing the rumours and seeing the videos that are circulating on social media. The FDA then went ahead to request members of the public to submit samples of the rumoured plastic rice or provide information as to where it could be found. We subjected all these samples received for laboratory investigation. Results from the analyses indicated that all the samples were in fact, real authentic rice and not plastic” she explained.

The FDA, therefore, asked the general public to continue to consume and ignore rumours of plastic rice in Ghana since ‘’the physical and chemical properties of plastic is such that ordinarily they cannot be reconstituted into edible food because plastic cannot absorb or mix with water.”

She also touted the authority’s post-market surveillance systems, and noted the need for reliance on the general public, and stressed the need for the public to be empowered to report some of these thins to the regulator.

“We have a website and it is good for the public to know this and to visit the website, to know that if there is a product that you see on the market that is suspicious, you report to the regulator.”

The FDA also revealed that, they are working with the international food safety authority network (INFOSAN), whose investigations into the same rumour of fake plastic rice in other countries such as Singapore, Nigeria and Canada, has revealed that all the rice in these countries are authentic and no plastic rice has been found anywhere in the world, with the national agency for food and drug administration in Nigeria, recently denying completely the availability of fake or plastic rice on their market after thorough investigations.

“The rumour of plastic rice is not peculiar to Ghana. The European food safety authority ranks this rumours of artificial plastic rice as the 9th of 13 emerging food risks in the world. This notwithstanding, the rumours of plastic rice have not been confirmed anywhere in the world”, the FDA assured.

A quick glance at the FDA website reveals a list of currently registered and safe food products including rice on the Ghanaian market, among which are Gino Thai Jasmine Rice, Obaatan Pa Long Grain Rice, Ruby long grain Rice, cow boy rice, Jazz rice and so many others.

In 2016, the FDA, whilst urging calm over the claims, suggested the possibility of the allegations emanating from some competitors in the rice retail market to undo others.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We found no ‘plastic rice’ in Ghana – FDA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Alexandre Capron, a French journalist and member of the Observer Team of France24 (OTF), has looked into the origins of these conspiracy theories and how their propagation has led to calls for increased protectionism and conflated nationalism in different countries across the continent.

This article is the first in a two-part series in which Capron takes a look at three popular videos and show how they seek to manipulate viewers into believing this plastic rice conspiracy.

For the past month, videos purporting to show rice made out of plastic have been circulating on social media in numerous African countries including Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Gambia. Some of these videos seem to show these food items being manufactured. In other videos, people film themselves performing tests on suspicious food items to show that they are really made of plastic.

The Observers team has identified at least 16 different videos about plastic rice that have surfaced online in the past five weeks. However, some of them are easy to recognize as hoaxes. We take a closer look at three videos debunked by our team.

1. Proof that plastic rice is being manufactured? No, just plastic pellets

One of the most widely shared videos purports to show plastic rice being manufactured in a factory. First, the camera focuses on two men feeding transparent sheets of plastic into a machine, which spits out long, thin ribbons, which enter another machine. The camera then focuses on the supposed result: tiny, almost translucent pellets, which, according to the many people who shared this video, look just like rice.

However, there is a small detail that provides a clue to what is actually being made at this factory. Roughly 49 seconds into the video, you can see a bag that says “Eva”. A quick online search reveals that “Eva” is the name of a product made by Chinese company, Sinopec, which makes polyethylene. The tiny granules that the machine is spitting out are probably plastic pellets used to protect fragile objects, such as glass, when it is packed into boxes.

A bag sits on the ground. If you look online, this same bag appears on a retail website on the page where you can buy Ethylene Vinyl Acetate, or plastic packing pellets meant to cushion fragile objects.

If you search “pellet filling” online, you can pull up many other videos showing exactly the same type of machines making packing materials.

2. Rice that burns? Yes, it’s possible

Many people are also sharing videos that show rice catching fire or burning into cinders. Those who share these videos claim that this is evidence that some rice being sold contains plastic.

The France 24 Observers team reached out to Dr. Alfred Bernard, a toxicologist at the University of Louvain in Belgium. Bernard was solicited by the Belgian media in May after a consumer claimed to have found plastic pellets being sold as rice [link in French]. Bernard agreed to reproduce the tests that he had carried out on what he called “high quality rice” manufactured by Uncle Ben’s.

The video (below) shows his conclusions.

Uncooked rice that is of excellent quality, when heated above a flame, burns as is described in the video. I was able to get good flames going. There’s another test you can do, too — just burn plastic and smell it. Burnt rice doesn’t smell anything like it.

3. Rice that bounces? Nothing out of the ordinary!

In other videos, people form rice into balls and toss it on the ground. Surprisingly, it turns out to be as bouncy as a tennis ball — proof, say some social media users, that the so-called rice is actually made from plastic.

Yet the fact that these rice balls bounce is no surprise to Doctor Fallou Sarr, the director of Dakar’s Food Technology Institute.

“At our institute, we carried out tests on rice that people in Senegal had flagged as suspicious. Our results showed that the rice that people thought was made out of plastic was actually just old rice — rice that was more than two years old. Other tests proved that there was absolutely no plastic in this rice.

So, why does it bounce? In fact, the starch in rice contains two components: amylose, which makes rice tough and hard, and amylopectin, which makes it sticky. However, when rice is more than a few years old, the amylose diminishes and amylopectin increases. When we heat up the rice, it becomes very sticky and, when it dries, it becomes extremely condensed. So it’s not surprising that it bounces when you throw it on the ground.”

If you want to know more about where the rumours about plastic rice came from and understand why these videos have become so popular on social media across Africa, check out the second part of our investigation, coming soon.

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Source:theafricancourier.de

The post The true story behind the ‘Plastic Rice’ videos appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Lagos customs chief Haruna Mamudu said the fake rice was intended to be sold in markets during the festive season.

He said the rice was very sticky after it was boiled and “only God knows what would have happened” if people ate it.

It is not clear where the seized bags came from but rice made from plastic pellets was found in China last year.

A total of 102 sacks, each containing 25kg, was seized.

Investigations are under way to establish how much of the contraband has already been sold.

[contextly_sidebar id=”GBYaZMKDwH5cpbapUo93BRm348IiGT82″]The customs official called on “economic saboteurs who see yuletide season as a peak period for their nefarious acts to desist from such illegal” business activity.

Mr Mamudu did not explain how the plastic rice was made but said it had been branded as “Best Tomato Rice”.

Ignore reports of ‘plastic rice’ on market – FDA

Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) last week downplayed reports of the influx of such product on the Ghanaian market.

speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the FDA, James Lartey, indicated that the authority’s investigations across the country have shown no trace of such ‘plastic rice’ on the market.

“We went around checking and investigating and up till now, in any sample of the said rice, we are not seeing that the thing is on the market.”

Mr. Lartey suggested the possibility of the allegations emanating from the competitors in the rice retail market, but urged the public to report to the FDA if they indeed come across it.

“We are just appealing to the public, if you have a sample or you have seen somebody selling it, just get a sample, bring it to us or call us and tell us where the product is. We will move immediately and deal with it,” he said.

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Source: BBC with additional files from citifmonline.com

The post ‘Plastic rice’ seized in Nigeria appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A video of the supposed plastic rice was circulating on social media platforms cautioning people against the purchase of that particular brand of rice.

But speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the FDA, James Lartey, indicated that the authority’s investigations across the country have shown no trace of such ‘plastic rice’ on the market.

“We went around checking and investigating and up till now, in any sample of the said rice, we are not seeing that the thing is on the market.”

Mr. Lartey suggested the possibility of the allegations emanating from the competitors in the rice retail market, but urged the public to report to the FDA if they indeed come across it.

“We are just appealing to the public, if you have a sample or you have seen somebody selling it, just get a sample, bring it to us or call us and tell us where the product is. We will move immediately and deal with it,” he said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ignore reports of ‘plastic rice’ on market – FDA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.