The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has rubbished claims that there is a supposed plastic rice on the Ghanaian market, despite several videos alleging the existence of such product.
Similar reports have surfaced in other countries in the sub-region including Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
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 and whether it false or not,” she said at a press briefing today [today].
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.”
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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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
