The Food and Drugs Authority has said it has found no evidence of plastic rice in Ghana, as has been purported in the past.
The FDA’s remarks follow claims online from 2017 that necessitated an investigation.
“As part of that investigation, and through our nationwide market surveillance activities, the Authority obtained random samples and subsequently requested members of the public to assist our investigations by either submitting samples of the alleged plastic rice or giving information of where they could be found.”
The authority explained that the physical and chemical properties of plastics are such that they cannot be cooked into edible food because plastic cannot absorb water and does not mix with water.
“The texture of each variety of rice depends on the nature of the starch content… This character of the starch in rice makes cooked rice grains stick together and allows it to be formed into a ball that can bounce off hard surfaces, as depicted in some of the videos on social media.”
A chemical called Amylose is responsible for the gummy nature of rice.
The FDA assured that it would continue to monitor the quality and safety of the varieties of rice on the market, both local and imported, to safeguard public health and safety.
