Nigerian officials row over 'plastic rice'
The Customs Service had said the rice was very sticky when cooked
Nigeria's food safety agency
has denied claims by the health minister that it has cleared the reported
"plastic" rice.
A senior official at the
National Agency For Food and Drugs (Nafdac) said the minister's Twitter
statement "is not their position".
Health Minister Isaac Adewole
had tweeted that tests by the agency found "no evidence" of plastic
material.
About 2.5 tonnes of the
"plastic" rice has been confiscated.
Rice is Nigeria's staple food.
Lagos customs chief Haruna
Mamudu said on Wednesday the fake rice was intended to be sold during the
festive season but has not commented on the health minister's statement.
The official at Nafdac told
the BBC's Stephanie Hegarty that the tests were still ongoing:
"We are not done with
comprehensive tests. We are still in the laboratory. We haven't concluded
analysis and it is not something we can conclude in two days."
"We are yet to conclude
the chemical and biological analysis," he added.
Mr Adewole had said the agency
would "release detailed findings to public as soon as it concludes
investigations", adding that Nigerians should remain calm.
It is not clear where the 102
seized sacks of rice came from but rice made from plastic pellets was found in
China last year.
Each bag contained 25kg (55lb) of fake rice
Mr Mamudu had said the rice
was very sticky after it was boiled and "only God knows what would have
happened" if people ate it.
The BBC's Martin Patience in
Lagos, who felt the rice, said it looked real but had a faint chemical odour.
The Lagos customs chief had
called on "economic saboteurs who see yuletide season as a peak period for
their nefarious acts to desist from such illegal" business activity.
Is the rice still on sale in the markets?
We haven't heard any reports
that the rice is still on sale in markets. Customs officials were investigating
but as of now have found nothing.
Nigeria's custom officials say
they seized a total of 102 sacks, each containing 25kg (55lb), branded
"Best Tomato Rice".
It is, however, unclear how
many bags had been sold, if any, and if there are other forms of contraband in
the market.
Has anyone eaten it?
We haven't heard of any
members of the public eating it.
Customs officials cooked the
rice and said that the texture was very gummy and it smelled odd, they refused to
eat it.
When asked the same question
on Twitter, Health Minister Isaac Adewole joked that no, he wouldn't eat it
without salt.
Image copyright Twitter
An unverified video of the
rice being cooked has been shared on social media.
In it the cook says the rice
catches fire and sticks on the pan.
How worried are Nigerians?
Very worried. There have been
several media reports warning the public about fake foodstuffs especially from
China and their potential dangers.
Speaking to the BBC's World
Have Your Say programme Ibrahim, from Kano State, said selling fake rice was
wickedness of the highest order.
How could there be such a disagreement between different Nigerian
officials?
Customs officials did say that
they were awaiting tests by Nafdac, the food standard agency, before they could
confirm what the rice was made of.
They suggested they would
accept the results of those tests.
However, a customs agent told
the BBC that the texture of the rice was like nothing he had seen before.
It is possible that this is a
different type of rice that they weren't familiar with.
It is also possible that the Ministry of Health is making
an effort to avoid public hysteria in the run-up to Christmas.
BBC
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