5 Rules for Buying Safe, Authentic Rice — NFA

General Santos City (PIA) – Following reports of fake rice that reportedly infiltrated Davao City, the National Food Authority (NFA) here has published a set of guidelines on how to examine properly the authenticity and quality of rice in the market.

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera also reminded the residents of the city not to panic over these fake rice incidents.

“The city government of Gensan is always willing to help the NFA in enforcing the rice and food security here in the city. We should not panic, but instead, follow the guidelines given by NFA to ensure the safety of our food,” Mayor Rivera said.

Dianne Silva of NFA Gensan appeared in the 96th regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) on July 7 to disclose five rules to observe before buying rice in any dealership store.

The first rule, she said, is that the dealership store should be accredited by the NFA. Silva said that it is important to purchase rice only in designated public markets, groceries, supermarkets, and NFA accredited retailers.

Regarding the physical appearance of the rice, Silva informed the SP that the “regular” and “well-milled” rice being imported by the NFA and licensed importers are pale white and long-grained.

Third, the rice should not be rounded in shape and equal in sizes. If the sizes are the same, it is possible that it was produced via machine.

Silva also suggested consumers to smell the rice and make sure that it has no plastic stench.

And fifth, she called on the consumers to avoid buying rice that have lighter weights compared to the regular ones. Along that line, rice that are sturdy and hard to break should not be bought.

On the other hand, Silva assured that the NFA Bantay Bigas is already in constant lookout to prevent the entry of fake rice which allegedly came from China.

“We in the NFA are already monitoring our markets in Gensan to see if these fake rice have already entered here. But as of now, I am glad that we don’t receive any reports yet,” Silva said. (IJLagare-Gensan CPIO/DEDoguiles-PIA 12)