The reports of prevalence of plastic rice and egg in Indian consumer market have stirred a hornet’s nest. Similar rumours had plagued Indonesia in 2015 and Nigeria in 2016. But the tests revealed the claims to be untrue.
In 2015, Interpol teamed with local police of some of the European nations, conducted the biggest fake food raid in the history and seized more than 2,500 tons of fake and substandard food from 47 countries around the world.
Fake food and drink pose a real threat to health and safety; at times the consumers invite the risk of dying because of the greed of criminals whose sole concern is to make money.
China: mother of food scandals
The Chinese food market has earned notoriety in “fake food” which ranges from low quality products that are deceptively packaged to adulterated foodstuffs or altered stuffs and even completely artificial commodities like the legendary man-made eggs or plastic rice.
The recent food scandals of honey and melamine milk have rocked the entire globe.
There has been a dramatic increase in counterfeit food since 2010-2011; the notable examples are calligraphy ink in noodles, fake wine, fake tofu, poisoned mushrooms, recycled steam buns, illegal food colouring, banned steroids fed to pigs, pork marinated to masquerade as beef, tainted bean sprouts, fake sweet potato flour, fish injected with mercury, shrimp injected with sodium, nitrite poison added to milk, extensive use of sewer or gutter recycled cooking oil and so on.
China has reported half a million illegal food safety violations in 2016 alone. Fake food menace poses humongous challenges to consumers’ health across the globe especially when the food products are imported from China.
Food scandals have plagued India
With globalization, multinational corporations seamlessly integrate their sourcing and supply chains to optimize costs and maximise profits. But inherent complexities in structure and modus operandi of food chains between countries make the task of maintaining the quality and safety of food, particularly, processed or raw items highly challenging.
Having experienced these stories of fake food, it is difficult to guess how widespread and complex is the problem and how much truth is there, especially in the most outlandish stories of plastic rice and eggs.
Hazy government policies with loose regulatory grips have emboldened dishonest traders and manufacturers resulting in fatal consequences.
The instances of higher levels of lead found by the FSSAI in Nestlé’s Maggi instant noodle ignited a huge debate over food safety in our social and political landscape.
Consequently, the Indian government banned Maggi, though later it reintroduced the product following a court battle. Similarly, the rampant use of milk adulterants, carcinogenic content in bread etc. are feared to be long-term chronic health problems.
Even genetically modified products are considered to be augmenting the productivity level in India. But health and food safety issues continue to elude policy makers.
Media hype:
India is one of the largest producers and a prominent rice exporting country in the world and it imports very negligible quantities. If plastic rice indeed exists, the units manufacturing them must have been located somewhere, albeit clandestinely.
However, there is no definite proof of such manufacturing units. There have been unproven reports of plastic rice being made in China and also exported to western countries; though with no conclusive evidence.
This issue has become fodder for some TRP hungry, rogue mainstream media and some people on social media.
Plastic rice is next to impossible
Recently Karnataka, AP, Telengana, Uttaranchal and Odisha have witnessed slew of such rumours through some mainstream media and social media. Media reports later clarified that there is nothing like plastic rice but it is only poor quality rice. Prof. K V Jamuna of the Department of Research, University of Agricultural Science, Dharwad, elaborated his procedure of testing namely – physical and chemical.
As part of the physical test, he did three things – cooking, roasting and checking physical appearance. The rice sample cooked and roasted properly but the rice did turn black. The next set of tests involved checking its physical appearance. The appearance was the same but there were signs of chalkiness and this is seen when the rice is of poor quality.
The rice grains were then poured into a test tube for checking various parameters but the result was the same – it was rice. Many rice traders across the country have termed this menace to be a by-product of social media hype.
Even logically, plastic rice is next to impossible to manufacture because rice is being sold at Rs.40-Rs 50 per kg, if plastic rice to be manufactured, it would cost around Rs 200 per kg to manufacture which makes no economic sense.
There is hardly any ‘plastic rice being seized, nor has any complaint worth investigating been filed before any authority. The stories are being planted to scare people.
The media should, therefore, behave responsibly and stop demonising the issue. If such scandals really exist, the food regulator concerned should unearth them and bring the perpetrators to book.
Inadequate regulatory grip
Food Adulteration is covered under item 18 of the Concurrent list in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India. In 1954, the Central Government enacted the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and many subsequent legislations with the objectives of eradicating the menace of food adulteration and to make available pure and wholesome food to the consumers.
Despite all the legislative efforts to control food adulteration and ensure food safety, the existing regulatory framework and related infrastructure have proven to be inadequate in terms of policing both accidental and deliberate adulteration. Surprisingly, as many as 20 laws govern the issue of food safety and standardisation and they are implemented through large number of ministries and departments, both by the centre and states.
However, the multiplicity of laws and implementation agencies often breeds ineffective coordination and corrupt practices.
As per Food safety and Standardisation Act, 2006 there are only 377 standardised food items for which is hopelessly inadequate to cover all categories of food and food safety related risks.
Way forward
Currently, the retail industry in India is a $410 billion market and is expected to cross $879 billion by 2018 but food safety and standardisation related issues are still plaguing this sector.
The enforcement of safety and standardisation at the production level and in the distribution chain would go a long way in ensuring better food safety. The augmentation of accredited testing laboratories, better compliance, constant monitoring etc., with a MSME focus, would help in better enforcing food safety and standardisation.
The food inspection at numerous points like shops, markets, airports, seaports and industrial premises with the help of police, custom officials, national food regulator partnering with private sector will ensure food safety but there is no substitution to sensitization of public about the foodsafety risks and also insulating them from the rumour mongers.
The author is a Supreme Court Advocate