- The plastic rice in Nigeria outcry was only going to be a matter of time before it got to our shores.There has been a recent trend of these fake rice trending everywhere and being highlighted on social media especially youtube.
- You may have heard of the recent news in Nigeria that the rice had made its way there,but the acting director general of NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni,has revealed that after laboratory tests conducted on the confiscated rice allegedly imported into the country,they are indeed not plastic.
- She, however, said the rice was “contaminated with microorganisms above permissible
- limit.”
- It was also revealed that over 40,000 bags of rice seized by the Nigeria Customs Service had been shared to Internally Displaced Persons’ camps, its Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Ali, stated.
- The Customs CG, represented by a Deputy Comptroller-General, Umar Ilya, said this on Thursday .
- Speaking further,Mrs Oni said-
- “Based on the above laboratory result, the product is not plastic but rice contaminated with micro-organisms above permissible limit, hence the seized rice consignment is unsatisfactory and therefore unwholesome for human consumption. The consignment upon handover by the Nigeria Customs Service shall be destroyed,”
- While explaining the circumstances surrounding the alleged plastic rice, he said the NCS only responded to a security alert issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser on the importation of plastic rice into the country.
- On the bags of good rice seized from traders who illegally imported the staple food to Nigeria, Ilya explained that the NCS had, after subjected the rice to test, given them to IDPs.
- He said, “We have seized over 40,000 bags of rice so far since the ban on importation of rice through the land borders. Those are the bags of rice that are being shared to the IDPs camps. But that is after we have tested and certified them suitable for consumption.”
