DAVAO CITY—The National Food Authority (NFA) has tapped its network of rice retailers and the grains retailers association Grecon, in the market to track down stores selling smuggled plastic or fake rice as laboratory testing of alleged fake rice is still under way.
NFA Regional Director Virgilio Alerta said what they sent to Manila for lab testing on Tuesday was a 1-kilo cooked rice they took from Carmencita Griño, who reported the matter to the media. Griño claimed to the NFA that the rice was brought to her by her sister-in-law who bought it from a store in Cabantian.
However, Alerta said Griño could not name the store. The NFA needs to take samples of raw rice, at least 1 kilo, so that results will be conclusive. Alerta pointed out that it is better for the NFA to submit raw rice to determine if it has the nutrient components through scientific laboratory testing in the NFA Food Development Center in Taguig.
Alerta assured they have already intensified monitoring and sought the assistance of the police to get into the source of rice where Griño brought their supply. He disclosed that they are going around the markets and listening by ear from their networks to allay fears that fake or plastic rice has reached Philippine shores.
This developed as Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Monday ordered the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to intensify monitoring against traders selling fake rice in the city.
Duterte had warned traders against selling fake rice or he will have them eat everything.
He said the NFA will be meeting Grecon on July 2 to discuss measures to prevent entry of plastic or fake rice in the markets. So far, Alerta said Grecon has already assured the NFA it will report immediately if they will monitor fake rice being sold in the market.
Alerta also said that there is no rice importation from China. He said the Philippine government, through the NFA is, importing rice from Vietnam and Thailand. Supplies are discharged in respective ports where they will be distributed like Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Surigao, among others.
Alerta said supplies undergo boarding protocols by the NFA, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Quarantine before being unloaded in the ports.
The NFA has called on the public to be vigilant against rice from China, as the NFA has not issued any importation permits for the country. Thus, it is likely that any rice found in the market is smuggled, if they did not come from auctions conducted by the BOC.
The BOC periodically auctions off any smuggled rice it has confiscated.
The NFA said its Technical Research Services Department will check the age of the Chinese rice to determine if it may have been part of the 8,000-bag batch auctioned in October 2014 by the BOC. If the rice is dated to have been produced later than the rice auctioned off last year, then the owners of the stalls will be summoned by the agency for inquiry.
Though the store owners will also be held liable for any illegally procured goods, it is of greatest concern to track down the source of any smuggled rice.