Thanks to China, now we have to be careful and i mean very careful about the kind of rice we buy in the market this festive season. As now the much loved rice that has been saving Nigerians since the beginning of time could now be harmful, all thanks to the plastic rice which apparently are manufactured in China.
Plastic rice, reportedly is made from potatoes, with synthetic resin moulded into the shape of real rice, and is said to have made its way into countries such as India, Indonesia, and now Nigeria.
Plastic rice is edible, but dangerous as the body is unable to digest it and should be avoided by all means, especially during this festive season.
The main thing to bear in mind is that plastic rice remains very hard even after cooking it and it smells differently from the normal rice we all know.
Now here are other ways to recognize a plastic rice.
1. Just take one glass of water and drop a handful of the said “rice” in the glass
If it’s plastic rice it won’t soak in water as plastic is resistant to water. Real rice is made of starch and it soak water in it when it is dipped into water.
2. You can also expose the rice to fire, by simply burning it using a lighter. If the rice is made of plastic it’s going to emit a pungent smell, almost similar to that of a burning plastic.
3. Boil a small quantity of the rice, now add the already boiled rice to a container and leave for some days – preferably 2-3 days- If its a plastic rice, it will not get mold on it because plastic is not affected by neither temperature or weather. But if its the real rice you will definitely see some growth on it.
4. You can also identify fake rice while boiling it — This method saves a lot of time. Just observe the rice while its boiling, if a thick layer forms on top of the pot then the rice is fake, also it is usually very sticky when felt.
5. Grind or pound a few grains of the rice. if the end product is white in colour, it is good to consume; but if it isn’t, but instead has a yellowish colour, then it is plastic.
The difference between a plastic rice and natural rice is quite hard to tell when raw. So this test should only be used if you don’t have the neccessary materials to to perform other tests on this list.
