Scare of plastic rice, sugar grips New Delhi

Ever thought the rice you eat might be made of plastic? Yes, bizarre as it may sound, the Delhi food department is collecting samples from various parts of the city after the rumours of rice being made of plastic surfaced. According to sources, it isn’t just rice, sugar too is being said to contain some percentage of plastic.

“There were videos on social networking platforms about rice and sugar being made of plastic. We have started a check and are collecting samples from different parts of Delhi,” said an officer from the Department of Food Safety.

In the last two weeks, the Department of Food Safety has collected around 20 samples of rice and sugar from various parts of the Capital. Around 20 such samples have been collected and sent to the lab.

“The report will come out in two weeks. If the samples will fail the quality test, strict action will be taken against the supplier,” added the official.

According to doctors, plastic rice, when ingested along with real rice, is not digested and can lead to serious gastric problems.

“Rice adulterated with plastic can be cancerous, and consumers should be really careful about it,” said Dr SK Sarin, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.

“Contamination with plastics is a less research issue in context of medical effects; but one of increasing importance to India. In animal experiments, such contamination can affect liver, reproductive system and heart, and it’s even known to cause diabetes,” said, Dr Anoop Misra, member, National Control Programme for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases, Union health ministry.

Dr Ram Chandra Soni, Gastroenterologist, Asian Hospital said, “Foreign particles like plastic will create absorption issues, if consumed. The cells in the large intestine are not able to absorb the food consumed as they become weak and that leads to deficiency. If a person over a time consumes plastic it can have an adverse effect on the endocrine system causing hormonal changes. It might lead to cancer of the liver.”

The food department in Delhi carries out surprise inspections and raids of food establishments. It draws up samples of food articles that can be adulterated.

ARTIFICIAL CONCERNS

• Social media videos showed plastic rice, sugar is being sold in the Capital
   
• Delhi Food Dept has taken 20 rice and sugar samples
   
• If ingested, plastic can cause severe gastric problems